Exodus 4

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

1Then Moses answered, 'But look, they will not believe me or listen to what I say. They will say, "The LORD did not appear to you."'

2And Jehovah said unto him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod.

2The LORD said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He replied, 'A walking stick.'

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.

3The LORD said, 'Throw it on the ground.' He threw it on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran away from it.

4And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail: (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand);

4Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Reach out your hand and grab it by the tail.' So he reached out, caught it, and it became a walking stick in his hand again.

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

5The LORD said, 'This is so they may believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.'

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

6Then the LORD said to him, 'Put your hand inside your coat.' He put his hand inside, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased and white as snow.

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

7Then He said, 'Put your hand back into your coat.' He put his hand back in, and when he took it out, it was healthy again like the rest of his skin.

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.

8The LORD said, 'If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second sign.'

9And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe even 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.

9'But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will turn into blood on the ground.'

10And Moses said unto Jehovah, Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

10Moses said to the LORD, 'O Lord, I have never been a good speaker, not in the past and not since you have spoken to me. I am slow of speech and I get tongue-tied.'

11And Jehovah said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh a man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? is it not I, Jehovah?

11The LORD said to him, 'Who made the human mouth? Who makes people unable to speak or hear? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD?'

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

12'Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.'

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

13But Moses said, 'O Lord, please send someone else to do it.'

14And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite? 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.

14Then the LORD became angry with Moses and said, 'What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be happy to see you.'

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

15'You will speak to him and tell him what to say. I will help both of you speak and will show you what to do.'

16And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God.

16'He will speak to the people for you. He will be like your mouth, and you will be like God to him.'

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

17'And take this walking stick with you so you can perform the miraculous 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 that are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

18Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, 'Please let me go back to my relatives in Egypt to see if they are still alive.' Jethro said to Moses, 'Go in peace.'

19And Jehovah said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt; for all the men are dead that sought thy life.

19While Moses was still in Midian, the LORD said to him, 'Go back to Egypt, because all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.'

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.

20So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and started back to Egypt. He took the walking stick of God in his hand.

21And Jehovah said unto Moses, When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand: but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.

21The LORD said to Moses, 'When you get back to Egypt, make sure you perform all the wonders for Pharaoh that I have given you the power to do. But I will make his heart stubborn so that he will not let the people go.'

22And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, Israel is my son, my first-born:

22'Then you must say to Pharaoh, "This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son."'

23and I have said unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and thou hast refused to let him go: behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born.

23'"I told you to let my son go so he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. So now, I will kill your firstborn son."'

24And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that Jehovah met him, and sought to kill him.

24On the journey, at a place where they stayed for the night, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him.

25Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, Surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me.

25Then Zipporah took a sharp flint stone, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses' feet with it. She said, 'You are a husband of blood to me.'

26So he let him alone. Then she said, A bridegroom of blood art thou, because of the circumcision.

26So the LORD let him alone. At that time she said 'a husband of blood' because of the circumcision.

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

27The LORD said to Aaron, 'Go into the desert to meet Moses.' So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.

28And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah wherewith he had sent him, and all the signs wherewith he had charged him.

28Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had told him to say and all the miraculous signs He had commanded him to do.

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

29Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the Israelites together.

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

30Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses, and Moses performed the signs in front of the people.

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

31The people believed. When they heard that the LORD was concerned about the Israelites and had seen their suffering, they bowed down and worshiped.