Proof for Moses

4 Then Moses answered, “What if ·the people of Israel [^Lthey] do not ·believe [trust] me or listen to ·me [^Lmy voice]? What if they say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

Moses answered, “It is my ·walking stick [staff; ^Crepresenting the presence of God].”

³ The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a ·snake [serpent]. Moses ·ran [fled] from the ·snake [serpent], ⁴ but the Lord said to him, “·Reach out [^LSend out your hand] and ·grab [grasp; catch] the ·snake [serpent] by its tail.” When ·Moses [^Lhe] ·reached out [^Lsent out his hand] and ·took hold of [snatched] ·the snake [^Lit], it again became a ·stick [staff] in his hand. ⁵ The Lord said, “This is so that the ·Israelites [^Lthey] will ·believe [trust] that the Lord appeared to you. I am the God of their ·ancestors [fathers], the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your ·coat [cloak; ^Lbosom].” So Moses put his hand inside his ·coat [cloak; ^Lbosom]. When he took it out, it was ·white [^Llike snow] with ·a skin disease [^Tleprosy; ^Cthe word is used for a variety of skin diseases].

⁷ Then he said, “Now put your hand inside your ·coat [cloak; ^Lbosom] again.” So Moses put his hand inside his ·coat [cloak; ^Lbosom] again. When he took it out [^Lof his coat/cloak/bosom], ·his hand was healthy again, like the rest of his skin [^Lit was restored like his flesh].

⁸ Then the Lord said, “If the people do not ·believe [trust] you or ·pay attention to [listen to the evidence of] the first ·miracle [sign], they may ·believe [trust] you when you show them this second ·miracle [sign]. ⁹ After these two ·miracles [signs], if they still do not ·believe [trust] or listen to ·you [^Lyour voice], take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the dry ground. The water will become blood ·when it touches [^Lon] the ground.”

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been a ·skilled speaker [^Lman of words]. Even now, after talking to you, I cannot speak well. I ·speak slowly and can’t find the best words [^Lhave a heavy/slow mouth and a heavy/slow tongue].”

¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who made a person’s mouth? And who makes someone deaf or ·not able to speak [mute]? Or who gives a person sight or blindness? It is I, the Lord. ¹² Now go! I will ·help you speak [^Lbe with your mouth], and I will teach you what to say.”

¹³ But Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone ·else [^Lyou want to send].”

¹⁴ The Lord became angry with Moses and said, “[^LDo I not know that…?] Your brother Aaron, from the family of Levi, is a ·skilled [fluent; smooth] speaker. He is already coming to meet you, and ·he will be happy [^Lhis heart will rejoice] when he sees you. ¹⁵ You will speak to Aaron and ·tell him what to say [^Lplace your words in his mouth]. I will ·help both of you to speak [^Lbe with your mouth and with his mouth] and will teach you what to do. ¹⁶ Aaron will speak to the people for you. ·You will tell him what God says, and he will speak for you [^LHe will be your mouth and you will be like God to him]. ¹⁷ Take your ·walking stick [staff; 4:2] ·with you [^Lin your hand], and use it to do the ·miracles [signs].”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, “Let me go back to my ·people [relatives; brothers; kindred] in Egypt. I want to see if they are still alive.”

Jethro said to Moses, “·Go! I wish you well [^LGo in peace].”

¹⁹ While Moses was still in Midian, the Lord said to him, “Go back to Egypt, because the men who ·wanted to kill you [^Lwere seeking your life] are dead now.”

²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and started back to Egypt. He took ·with him [^Lin his hand] the ·walking stick [staff] of God.

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, do all the miracles I have ·given you the power to do [^Lset in our hand]. Show them to ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh]. But I will ·make the king very stubborn [^Lharden his heart], and he will not let the people go. ²² Then say to ·the king [^LPharaoh], ‘·This is what [Thus] the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son [^Cthe privileged child]. ²³ I told you to let my son go so he may ·worship [serve] me. But you refused to let Israel go, so I will kill your firstborn son [11:1–10].’”

²⁴ ·As Moses was on his way to Egypt [^LOn the way], he stopped at a resting place for the night. The Lord met him there and tried to kill him. ²⁵ But Zipporah took a flint knife and ·circumcised [^Lcut the foreskin of] her son. Taking the skin, she touched Moses’ feet [^Ca euphemism for his genitalia] with it and said to him, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me.” ²⁶ She said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” ·because she had to circumcise her son [^Lby circumcision]. So the Lord let Moses alone [^Cthis event is difficult to interpret, but shows that circumcision is important to God].

²⁷ Meanwhile the Lord said to Aaron, “Go out into the ·desert [wilderness] to meet Moses.” When Aaron went, he met Moses at Sinai, the mountain of God, and kissed him. ²⁸ Moses ·told [reported to] Aaron everything the Lord had said to him when he sent him to Egypt. He also told him about the miracles [signs] which the Lord had commanded him to do.

²⁹ Moses and Aaron gathered all the elders of the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel], ³⁰ and Aaron told them everything that the Lord had told Moses. Then Moses did the ·miracles [signs] for all the people to see, ³¹ and the ·Israelites [^Lpeople] ·believed [trusted]. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their ·troubles [afflictions; humiliation], they bowed down and worshiped him.