Exodus 4

¹Moses answered, and said: They will not believe me, nor hear my voice, but they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to thee.

²Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand? He answered: A rod.

³And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast it down, and it was turned into a serpent, so that Moses fled from it.

⁴And the Lord said: Put out thy hand, and take it by the tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod.

⁵That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to thee.

⁶And the Lord said again: Put thy hand into thy bosom. And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow.

⁷And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bosom. He put it back, and brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh.

⁸If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign.

⁹But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice: take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land, and whatsoever thou drawest out of the river, shall be turned into blood.

¹⁰Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before; and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.

¹¹The Lord said to him: Who made man's mouth? or who made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? did not I?

¹²Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth; and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak.

¹³But he said: I beseech thee, Lord, send whom thou wilt send.

¹⁴The Lord being angry at Moses, said: Aaron the Levite is thy brother, I know that he is eloquent: behold he cometh forth to meet thee, and seeing thee, shall be glad at heart.

¹⁵Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be in thy mouth, and in his month, and will shew you what you must do.

¹⁶He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God.

¹⁷And take this rod in thy hand. wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

¹⁸Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said to him; I will go and return to my brethren into Egypt, that I may see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to him: Go in peace.

¹⁹And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into Egypt; for they are all dead that sought thy life.

²⁰Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass; and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand.

²¹And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt: See that thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put in thy hand: I shall harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.

²²And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

²³I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me, and thou wouldst not let him go: behold I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

²⁴And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him.

²⁵Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and said: A bloody spouse art thou to me.

²⁶And he let him go after she had said: A bloody spouse art thou to me, because of the circumcision.

²⁷And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet Moses. And he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.

²⁸And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had sent him, and the signs that he had commanded.

²⁹And they came together, and they assembled all the ancients of the children of Israel.

³⁰And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses: and he wrought the signs before the people.

³¹And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction: and falling down they adored.

Exodus 4

¹And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

²And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

³And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

⁴And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

⁵That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

⁶And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

⁷And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

⁸And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

⁹And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

¹⁰And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

¹¹And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?

¹²Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

¹³And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

¹⁴And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

¹⁵And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

¹⁶And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

¹⁷And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

¹⁸And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

¹⁹And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

²⁰And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

²¹And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

²²And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

²³And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

²⁴And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.

²⁵Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

²⁶So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

²⁷And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

²⁸And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

²⁹And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:

³⁰And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

³¹And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.