Exodus, 4

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

1. Moses replied to Yahweh, "What if they will not believe me or listen to me? Maybe they will say: 'That's not true. Yahweh did not appear to you."

2. And the LORD said unto him, What [is] that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

2. Yahweh then asked him, "What is that in your right hand?" "A staff," he replied.

3. And 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.

3. God said, "Throw it to the ground." He threw it and it became a serpent; and Moses drew back from it.

4. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

4. Yahweh said, "Take it by the tail." Moses took it and it was again a staff in his hand.

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

5. Then Yahweh said, "With such signs they may believe that Yahweh, the God of your fathers, appeared to you."

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

6. Again Yahweh said to him, "Put your hand on your chest." He put his hand on his chest and when he took it away his hand was covered with leprosy, white as snow.

7. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his [other] flesh.

7. And God said, "Put your hand back on your chest." So he put it back, and when he took it away again, his hand was healthy like the rest of his body.

8. And 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.

8. Yahweh added, "If they don't believe you and are not convinced by the first sign, they will believe you when they see the second.

9. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also 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 these two signs are not enough to make them believe you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground; and the water from the river will turn into blood."

10. And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I [am] not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I [am] slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

10. Moses said to Yahweh, "But, my Lord, never have I been a fluent speaker either before or after you have spoken to me. I cannot find words to express what I want to say."

11. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

11. Yahweh said to him,"Who gave man a mouth? Who makes him dumb or deaf, with sight or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh?

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

12. Go now. I will be on your lips and will inspire what you say."

13. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand [of him whom] thou wilt send.

13. But Moses insisted, "My Lord, I pray you, why not send someone else?"

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

14. At this Yahweh became angry with Moses and said, "Haven't you Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know he speaks well. Look! He is coming to meet you,

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

15. and he will be glad when he sees you. You will speak to him and tell him what I have told you to say. And when you tell him, or when he speaks, I will be with you and teach you what you have to say.

16. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, [even] he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

16. Aaron will speak for you as a prophet speaks for his god.

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

17. And with this staff in your hand you will work miraculous signs."

18. And 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 which [are] in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

18. Then Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, "I am going back to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive." Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace!"

19. And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

19. Yahweh said to Moses in the land of Midian, "Go back to Egypt for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead."

20. And 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.

20. Moses took with him his wife and his sons. He put them on a donkey and set off for Egypt, holding in his hand the staff of God.

21. And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

21. Yahweh said to Moses, "You are returning to Egypt and you will perform all the miraculous signs that I have empowered you to do, in the presence of Pharaoh. I will, however, make him stubborn so that he will not let the people go.

22. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel [is] my son, [even] my firstborn:

22. You shall then say to Pharaoh: 'This is Yahweh's message: Israel is my firstborn son,

23. And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn.

23. and I said to you: Let my son go that he may worship me. But you have refused to let him go and, because of this, I will take the life of your firstborn son."

24. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

24. At a lodging place on the way, the Angel of Yahweh approached Moses and tried to kill him.

25. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast [it] at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband [art] thou to me.

25. But Zipporah took a flint stone and cut her son's foreskin and, with it, she touched the feet of Moses saying, "You are now my husband by blood!"

26. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband [thou art], because of the circumcision.

26. And the Angel left him. Zipporah said 'husband by blood' because of the circumcision.

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

27. Yahweh said to Aaron, "Go into the desert and meet your brother, Moses." So Aaron went and met him at the Mountain of God and kissed him.

28. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

28. Moses related to Aaron all that Yahweh had said to him and all the signs he had commanded him to perform.

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

29. Moses and Aaron assembled all the elders of the Israelites

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

30. and Aaron told them everything that Yahweh had said to Moses. He also performed all the signs before the people and they believed him.

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

31. When they heard that Yahweh had visited the people of Israel and had seen their suffering, they bowed to the ground and worshiped him.