Exodus 4

Moses Given Signs

1Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or 1listen 2to what I say? For they may say, ‘3The Lord has not appeared to you.’” 2The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “4A staff.” 3Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and 5it turned into a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4But the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand and grasp it by its tail”--so he reached out with his hand and caught it, and it turned into a staff in his 6hand-- 5“so that 7they may believe that 8the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

6The Lord furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand inside the fold of your robe.” So he put his hand inside the fold, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was 9leprous like snow. 7Then He said, “Put your hand inside the fold of your robe again.” So he put his hand into the fold again, and when he took it out of the fold, behold, 10it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8“So if they will not believe you nor 11pay attention to the 12evidence of the first 13sign, they may believe the 14evidence of the last 15sign. 9But if they will not believe even these two 16signs nor pay attention to what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile 17will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

10Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, 18I have never been 19eloquent, neither 20recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am 21slow of speech and 22slow of tongue.” 11But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or 23who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12Now then go, and 24I Myself will be with your mouth, and 25instruct you in what you are to say.” 13But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by 26whomever You will.”

Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece

14Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that 27he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, 28he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be 29overjoyed. 15So you are to speak to him and 30put the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do. 1631He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. 17And you shall take in your hand 32this staff, 33with which you shall perform the signs.”

18Then Moses departed and returned to 34his father-in-law 35Jethro, and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go 36back to Egypt, for 37all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20So Moses took his wife and his 38sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the 39staff of God in his hand.

21And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go 40back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all 41the wonders which I have put in your 42power; but 43I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: “44Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23So I said to you, ‘45Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, 46I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

24But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the Lord met 47Moses, and 48sought to put him to death. 25So Zipporah took 49a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and 50threw it at Moses’ feet; and she said, “You are indeed a groom of blood to me!” 26So He left him alone. At that time she said, “You are a groom of blood”--51because of the circumcision.

2752Now the Lord said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the 53mountain of God and kissed him. 2854Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and 55all the signs that He had commanded him to do. 29Then Moses and Aaron went and 56assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30and 57Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the 58signs in the sight of the people. 31So 59the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord 6061was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, 62they bowed low and worshiped.