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

And Moses answered, But behold, they will not believe me or listen to and obey my voice; for they will say, The Lord has not appeared to you.

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

And the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod.

3 A nd 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.

And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he did so and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

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

And the Lord said to Moses, Put forth your hand and take it by the tail. And he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand,

5 T herefore they will believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared unto thee.

that the elders may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has indeed appeared to you.

6 A nd the LORD said furthermore unto him, Now put 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 snow.

The Lord said also to him, Put your hand into your bosom. He put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.

7 A nd he said, Put thy 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.

said, Put your hand into your bosom again. So he put his hand back into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored as the rest of his flesh.

8 A nd 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.

If they will not believe you or heed the voice or the testimony of the first sign, they may believe the voice or the witness of the second sign.

9 A nd 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.

But if they will also not believe these two signs or heed your voice, you shall take some water of the river and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which you take out of the river shall become blood on the dry land.

10 ¶ Then Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither up until now, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy slave; but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.

And Moses said to the Lord, O Lord, I am not eloquent or a man of words, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and have a heavy and awkward tongue.

11 A nd the LORD said unto him, Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the dumb or the deaf or the seeing or the blind? Am not I the LORD?

And the Lord said to him, Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

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

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall say.

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

And he said, Oh, my Lord, I pray You, send by the hand of whom You will.

14 T hen the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Do I not know thy brother Aaron, the Levite, and that he can speak well? And also, behold, he comes forth to meet thee, and when he sees thee, he will be glad in his heart.

Then the anger of the Lord blazed against Moses; He said, Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite? I know he can speak well. Also, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be overjoyed.

15 A nd 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.

You must speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what you shall do.

16 A nd he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be unto thee as thy mouth, and thou shalt be unto him as God.

He shall speak for you to the people, acting as a mouthpiece for you, and you shall be as God to him.

17 A nd thou shalt take this rod in thy hand with which thou shalt do the signs.

And you shall take this rod in your hand with which you shall work the signs.

18 ¶ Thus Moses went and returned unto Jethro, his father-in-law, and said unto him, I shall go now and return unto my brethren who are in Egypt and see whether they are yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

And Moses went away and, returning to Jethro his father-in-law, said to him, Let me go back, I pray you, to my relatives in Egypt to see whether they are still alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19 A nd the LORD also said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead who sought thy life.

The Lord said to Moses in Midian, Go back to Egypt; for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.

20 T hen 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.

And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on donkeys, and he returned to the land of Egypt; and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

21 A nd 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.

And the Lord said to Moses, When you return into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all those miracles and wonders which I have put in your hand; but I will make him stubborn and harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

22 A nd thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, The LORD hath said thus: Israel is my son, even my firstborn.

And you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is My son, even My firstborn.

23 A nd I have said unto thee, Let my son go that he may serve me, but thou hast refused to let him go; therefore, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

And I say to you, Let My son go, that he may serve Me; and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your son, your firstborn.

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

Along the way at a place, the Lord met and sought to kill him.

25 T hen Zipporah took a sharp flint and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet, saying, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

'> failed to circumcise one of his sons, his wife being opposed to it; but seeing his life in such danger] Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it to touch feet, and said, Surely a husband of blood you are to me!

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

When He let alone, Zipporah said, A husband of blood are you because of the circumcision.

27 A nd 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.

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

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

Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and all the signs with which He had charged him.

29 A nd Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the sons of Israel:

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

30 A nd Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses and did the signs before the eyes of the people.

Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

31 A nd the people believed; and hearing that the LORD had visited the sons of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed and worshipped.

And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the Israelites, and that He had looked upon their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.