Exodus 4

Moses Given Powerful Signs

1 Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’" 2 The Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, *ver. 17, 20"A staff." 3 And he said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, "Put out your hand and catch it by the tail"—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 "that they may *ch. 19:9believe that the Lord, *See ch. 3:6the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." 6 Again, the Lord said to him, "Put your hand inside your cloak."*4:6 Hebrew into your bosom; also verse 7 And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was *Num. 12:10;2 Kgs. 5:27leprous*4:6 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 like snow. 7 Then God said, "Put your hand back inside your cloak." So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, *[2 Kgs. 5:14]it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 "If they will not believe you," God said, "or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile *ch. 7:19will become blood on the dry ground."

10 But Moses said to the Lord, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but *[ch. 6:12;Jer. 1:6]I am slow of speech and of tongue." 11 Then the Lord said to him, "Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and *[ch. 3:12;Isa. 50:4;Jer. 1:9;Ezek. 33:22;Matt. 10:19,20;Mark 13:11;Luke 12:11,12;21:15]I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." 13 But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else." 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, "Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, *ver. 27he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 *ch. 7:1,2You shall speak to him and *Num. 22:38;23:5,12,16;Deut. 18:18;2 Sam. 14:3,19;Isa. 51:16put the words in his mouth, and *[See ver. 12above]I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 *ver. 30He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and *[ch. 7:1;18:19]you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand *ver. 2;ch. 7:15this staff, with which you shall do the signs."

Moses Returns to Egypt

18 Moses went back to *[ch. 2:18]Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace." 19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for *ch. 2:15,23;[Matt. 2:20]all the men who were seeking your life are dead." 20 So Moses took *ch. 18:2-4his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took *ch. 17:9;Num. 20:8,9the staff of God in his hand.

21 And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the *ch. 3:20miracles that I have put in your power. But *ch. 7:13,22;8:15,32;9:12,35;10:1;14:8;Rom. 9:17,18;[Deut. 2:30;Josh. 11:20;Isa. 63:17]I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, *Hos. 11:1Israel is my *Jer. 31:9firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, "Let my son go that he may serve me." If you refuse to let him go, behold, I *ch. 11:5;12:29will kill your firstborn son.’"

24 At a lodging place on the way *[Num. 22:22;1 Chr. 21:16] the Lord met him and *[Gen. 17:14]sought to put him to death. 25 Then *ch. 2:21Zipporah took a *Josh. 5:2,3flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’*4:25 Hebrew his feet with it and said, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!" 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, "A bridegroom of blood," because of the circumcision.

27 The Lord said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness *ver. 14to meet Moses." So he went and met him at the *See ch. 3:1mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses *ver. 15, 16told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all *See ver. 3-9the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron *ch. 3:16went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 *ver. 16Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people *ver. 8, 9;ch. 3:18believed; and when they heard that the Lord had *See ch. 3:16visited the people of Israel and that he had *ch. 2:25;3:7seen their affliction, *ch. 12:27;Gen. 24:26;1 Chr. 29:20they bowed their heads and worshiped.