1 A nd Moses answereth and saith, `And, if they do not give credence to me, nor hearken to my voice, and say, Jehovah hath 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 Jehovah saith unto him, `What this in thy hand?' and he saith, `A rod;'

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

3 a nd He saith, `Cast it to the earth;' and he casteth it to the earth, and it becometh a serpent -- and Moses fleeth from its presence.

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 Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Put forth thy hand, and lay hold on the tail of it;' and he putteth forth his hand, and layeth hold on it, and it becometh 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 ` -- so that they believe that Jehovah, God of their fathers, hath appeared unto thee, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.'

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 Jehovah saith to him again, `Put in, I pray thee, thy hand into thy bosom;' and he putteth in his hand into his bosom, and he bringeth it out, and lo, his hand 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 saith, `Put back thy hand unto thy bosom;' and he putteth back his hand unto his bosom, and he bringeth it out from his bosom, and lo, it hath turned back as his 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 ` -- and it hath come to pass, if they do not give credence to thee, and hearken not to the voice of the first sign, that they have given credence to 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 ` And it hath come to pass, if they do not give credence even to these two signs, nor hearken to thy voice, that thou hast taken of the waters of the River, and hast poured on the dry land, and the waters which thou takest from the River have been, yea, they have become -- blood on 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 A nd Moses saith unto Jehovah, `O, my Lord, I not a man of words, either yesterday, or before, or since Thy speaking unto Thy servant, for I slow of mouth, and slow of 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 Jehovah saith unto him, `Who appointed a mouth for man? or who appointeth the dumb, or deaf, or open, or blind? is it not I, Jehovah?

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 a nd now, go, and I -- I am with thy mouth, and have directed thee that which thou speakest;'

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

13 a nd he saith, `O, my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand Thou dost send.'

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

14 A nd the anger of Jehovah burneth against Moses, and He saith, `Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I have known that he speaketh well, and also, lo, he is coming out to meet thee; when he hath seen thee, then he hath rejoiced 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 hast spoken unto him, and hast set the words in his mouth, and I -- I am with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and have directed you that which ye 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, he hath spoken for thee unto the people, and it hath come to pass, he -- he is to thee for a mouth, and thou -- thou art to him for 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 this rod thou dost take in thy hand, with which thou doest the signs.'

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

18 A nd Moses goeth and turneth back unto Jethro his father-in-law, and saith to him, `Let me go, I pray thee, and I turn back unto my brethren who in Egypt, and I see whether they are yet alive.' And Jethro saith 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 Jehovah saith unto Moses in Midian, `Go, turn back to Egypt, for all the men have died who seek 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 a nd Moses taketh his wife, and his sons, and causeth them to ride on the ass, and turneth back to the land of Egypt, and Moses taketh 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 Jehovah saith unto Moses, `In thy going to turn back to Egypt, see -- all the wonders which I have put in thy hand -- that thou hast done them before Pharaoh, and I -- I strengthen his heart, and he doth not send the people away;

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 hast said unto Pharaoh, Thus said Jehovah, My son, My first-born Israel,

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

23 a nd I say unto thee, Send away My son, and he doth serve Me; and -- thou dost refuse to send him away -- lo, I am slaying thy son, thy first-born.'

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 A nd it cometh to pass in the way, in a lodging place, that Jehovah meeteth him, and seeketh to put him to death;

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

25 a nd Zipporah taketh a flint, and cutteth off the foreskin of her son, and causeth to touch his feet, and saith, `Surely a bridegroom of blood 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 a nd He desisteth from him: then she said, `A bridegroom of blood,' in reference to the circumcision.

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

27 A nd Jehovah saith unto Aaron, `Go to meet Moses into the wilderness;' and he goeth, and meeteth him in the mount of God, and kisseth 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 a nd Moses declareth to Aaron all the words of Jehovah with which He hath sent him, and all the signs with which He hath charged 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 goeth -- Aaron also -- and they gather 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 speaketh all the words which Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses, and doth 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 believe when they hear that Jehovah hath looked after the sons of Israel, and that He hath seen their affliction; and they bow and do obeisance.

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.