Exodus 4

1 Then Moses answered: “But if they do not believe me and do not listen to my voice — if they say, ‘God has not appeared to you’ — what am I to say to them?” 2 And the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a snake — and Moses ran from it. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take hold of its tail.” So he reached out his hand and took hold of the tail, and it became a staff in his hand — 5 “so that they may believe you, that the Lord, the God of their fathers, has appeared to you — the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” 6 And the Lord said to him again, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak and brought it out again — and his hand was like snow. [a] 7 And he said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak and brought it out, and it had gone back to the color of the rest of his flesh. 8 “And if they do not believe you and do not listen to the voice of the first sign, they will believe you at the voice of the second sign. 9 And if they do not believe you even at these two signs, and do not listen to your voice, then take some of the water of the river and pour it on the dry ground; and the water you take from the river will become blood on the dry ground.”

10 And Moses said to the Lord, “I beg you, Lord — I have never been able to speak, not before yesterday, not the day before that, and not since you began speaking to your servant. My voice is thin and my tongue is slow.” 11 And the Lord said to Moses, “Who gave a mouth to man? Who makes the hard of hearing and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? Is it not I, God? 12 Go now, and I myself will open your mouth and teach you what you are to say.” 13 And Moses said, “I beg you, Lord — appoint someone else who is able, and send him.” 14 And the Lord burned with anger against Moses and said, “Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak — and look, he is already coming out to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart. 15 You will speak to him and put my words in his mouth; and I will open your mouth and his mouth, and teach you both what you are to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you. He will be your mouth, and you will be for him in the things that concern God. 17 And take this staff in your hand, the one that turned into a snake — with it you will do the signs.”

18 So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said, “I will go and return to my brothers in Egypt and see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in good health.” 19 After those many days the king of Egypt died. And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go, set out for Egypt. Everyone who was looking for your life is dead.” [b] 20 So Moses took his wife and his children, mounted them on the donkeys, and turned back toward Egypt; and Moses took in his hand the staff that came from God. 21 And the Lord said to Moses, “As you go on your way back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put in your hands. But I will make his heart hard, and he will not send the people out. 22 And you will say to Pharaoh: ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. 23 And I told you: send my people out, so that they may serve me. If you refuse to send them out — then look: I will kill your firstborn son.’”

24 On the road, at the place where they stopped for the night, a messenger of the Lord met him and tried to kill him. [c] 25 And Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off her son’s foreskin, and fell at his feet and said, “The blood of my child’s circumcision has stopped.” [d] 26 And he went away from him, because she had said, “The blood of my child’s circumcision has stopped.”

27 And the Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” And he went, and met him at the mountain of God, and they kissed each other. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord that he had sent him with, and all the signs he had charged him with. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered the council of elders of the children of Israel, 30 and Aaron spoke all the words that God had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in front of the people. 31 And the people believed and were glad, because God had watched over the children of Israel and had seen their affliction. And the people bowed low and worshiped.