Feb.
23
Exodus
4
Exo
4:1 Moses answered, "But, behold, they will not believe me, nor
listen to my voice; for they will say, 'Yahweh has not appeared to
you.' "
Exo
4:2 Yahweh said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He
said, "A rod."
Exo
4:3 He said, "Throw it on the ground." He threw it on the
ground, and it became a snake; and Moses ran away from it.
Exo
4:4 Yahweh said to Moses, "Put forth your hand, and take it by
the tail." He put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it
became a rod in his hand.
Exo
4:5 "That they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
has appeared to you."
Exo
4:6 Yahweh said furthermore to him, "Now put your hand inside
your cloak." He put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took
it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.
Exo
4:7 He said, "Put your hand inside your cloak again." He
put his hand inside his cloak again, and when he took it out of his
cloak, behold, it had turned again as his other flesh.
Exo
4:8 "It will happen, if they will neither believe you nor
listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the
voice of the latter sign.
Exo
4:9 It will happen, if they will not believe even these two signs,
neither listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the
river, and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take out of
the river will become blood on the dry land."
Exo
4:10 Moses said to Yahweh, "Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent,
neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I
am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."
Exo
4:11 Yahweh said to him, "Who made man's mouth? Or who makes
one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn't it I, Yahweh?
Exo
4:12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you
what you shall speak."
Exo
4:13 He said, "Oh, Lord, please send someone else."
Exo
4:14 The anger of Yahweh was kindled against Moses, and he said,
"What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can
speak well. Also, behold, he comes forth to meet you. When he sees
you, he will be glad in his heart.
Exo
4:15 You shall speak to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will
be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you
shall do.
Exo
4:16 He will be your spokesman to the people; and it will happen,
that he will be to you a mouth, and you will be to him as God.
Exo
4:17 You shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do
the signs."
Exo
4:18 Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said
to him, "Please let me go and return to my brothers who are in
Egypt, and see whether they are still alive." Jethro said to
Moses, "Go in peace."
Exo
4:19 Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return into Egypt;
for all the men who sought your life are dead."
Exo
4:20 Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on a donkey, and
he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took God's rod in his hand.
Exo
4:21 Yahweh said to Moses, "When you go back into Egypt, see
that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your
hand, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.
Exo
4:22 You shall tell Pharaoh, 'Thus says Yahweh, Israel is my son, my
firstborn,
Exo
4:23 and I have said to you, "Let my son go, that he may serve
me;" and you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill
your son, your firstborn.' "
Exo
4:24 It happened on the way at a lodging place, that Yahweh met him
and wanted to kill him.
Exo
4:25 Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her
son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, "Surely you are a
bridegroom of blood to me."
Exo
4:26 So he let him alone. Then she said, "You are a bridegroom
of blood," because of the circumcision.
Exo
4:27 Yahweh said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet
Moses." He went, and met him on God's mountain, and kissed him.
Exo
4:28 Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh with which he had sent
him, and all the signs with which he had instructed him.
Exo
4:29 Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of
the children of Israel.
Exo
4:30 Aaron spoke all the words which Yahweh had spoken to Moses, and
did the signs in the sight of the people.
Exo
4:31 The people believed, and when they heard that Yahweh had
visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their
affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.