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God shows Moses some strange things

4 Then Moses replied, ‘Perhaps the leaders of Israel will not believe me. Perhaps they will not listen to my message. Perhaps they will say, “The Lord did not really appear to you.” ’

² Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘What is that thing in your hand?’ Moses answered, ‘It is a stick.’

³ The Lord said, ‘Throw it down on the ground.’ So Moses threw it on the ground. Then the stick became a snake! Moses ran away from the snake. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take hold of the snake's tail with your hand.’ So Moses caught the snake with his hand. Then it became a stick in his hand again. ⁵ God said, ‘Do this in front of them. Then they will believe you. They will believe that I, the Lord God, have appeared to you. I am the God that their ancestors worshipped. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’

⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Put your hand inside your robe.’ So Moses did this. When he took his hand out again, the skin had become white, like snow. It was the bad disease called leprosy.

⁷ Then God said, ‘Put your hand back inside your robe again.’ So Moses did that. And when he took his hand out, it was well again, like the rest of his skin!

⁸ God said, ‘The leaders may not believe you. They may not think that the miracle with the stick shows anything. But they may believe you when you do the second miracle. ⁹ But they may still not listen to your message. If they will not even believe those two miracles, do this: Take some water from the River Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water that you take from the river will become blood on the ground.’ ^{[ a ]}

¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord , ‘My Lord, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly and I speak with difficulty. I never could speak well. And even now, when you have spoken to me, I still cannot speak well.’

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Who has made human mouths? Who makes a person that cannot speak? Who makes a person that cannot hear? Who makes a person who can see, or who cannot see? It is I, the Lord God! ¹² Now go! I will help you to speak well. I will teach you what you must say.’

¹³ But Moses said, ‘My Lord, please send some other person. Do not send me!’

¹⁴ Then the Lord became angry with Moses. He said, ‘Aaron, the Levite, is your brother. I know that he can speak very well. Look! He is coming to meet you now. When he sees you, he will be very happy.

¹⁵ So this is what you must do. You must speak to him. You must tell him what to say. I will help both of you to speak. And I will teach both of you what you must do. ¹⁶ Aaron will speak to the people on your behalf. He will be like your mouth, to speak your message. And you will be like God to him. You will tell him what to say. ¹⁷ Take this stick with you and hold it in your hand. You will use it to do the miracles to show that I have sent you.’

Moses returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Then Moses went back to Jethro, his wife's father. Moses said to him, ‘Please let me return to my family in Egypt. I must see if they are still alive.’ So Jethro said to Moses, ‘Go in peace.’ ^{[ b ]}

¹⁹ The Lord had said to Moses while he was still in Midian, ‘Go back to Egypt. All the men who tried to kill you are now dead.’ ²⁰ So Moses put his wife and his sons on a donkey and they started on the journey back to Egypt. And Moses carried the stick of God in his hand.

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you return to Egypt you must do the signs. Do all the signs that I gave you the power to do. Do them in front of Pharaoh. But I will make Pharaoh angry and cruel. Because of this, he will not let the people go.

²² Then you must speak to Pharaoh. You must say, “The Lord says, Israel is my first son. ²³ I have already said to you, Let my son go so that he can worship me. But if you refuse to let him go, I will kill your first son.” ’

²⁴ On the way to Egypt, there was a place where people could rest on their journey. The Lord met Moses there and he wanted to kill Moses. ²⁵ But Zipporah took a sharp stone and she cut off her son's foreskin with the stone. She touched Moses' feet with the foreskin. She said, ‘You are a husband of blood to me.’ ²⁶ So God did not do anything bad to Moses. Then Zipporah said to Moses, ‘You are a husband of blood, because of this circumcision.’ ^{[ c ]}

²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, ‘Go into the desert to meet Moses.’ So Aaron went. He met Moses at the mountain of God and he kissed him. ²⁸ Then Moses told Aaron all that the Lord had told him to say. He also told Aaron about all the special signs. God had commanded Moses to show these signs to the Israelites and to Pharaoh.

²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron went to Egypt. They brought together all the leaders of the Israelites. ³⁰ Aaron told them all the things that the Lord had said to Moses. Then Moses did the signs in front of the people. ³¹ And the people believed Aaron and Moses. They had heard that the Lord had come to his people. God had seen their hard life and he was sorry for them. They put their heads down and they worshipped God.

Footnotes

4:9 These miracles would show the Israelites that Moses spoke with the authority of God.
4:18 ‘Go in peace’ means that Jethro agreed with Moses. He wanted Moses to have a good journey and to arrive safely.
4:26 A long time before this, God had told Abraham that he must circumcise himself and every male person in his house. All the men that would be born into that family must obey that command. That was the sign of God's promise to Abraham and his family. Because Moses had not circumcised his son, he had not obeyed God's command. Zipporah circumcised their son because God would have killed Moses. Because she obeyed God, Moses did not die.

Proof for Moses

4 Then Moses said to God, “But the Israelites will not believe me when I tell them that you sent me. They will say, ‘The Lord ^{[ a ]} did not appear to you.’”

² But the Lord said to Moses, “What is that you have in your hand?”

Moses answered, “It is my walking stick.”

³ Then God said, “Throw your walking stick on the ground.”

So Moses threw his walking stick on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran from it, ⁴ but the Lord said to him, “Reach out and grab the snake by its tail.”

When Moses reached out and caught the snake’s tail, the snake became a walking stick again. ⁵ Then God said, “Use your stick in this way, and the people will believe that you saw the Lord , the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will give you another proof. Put your hand under your robe.”

So Moses opened his robe and put his hand inside. Then he brought his hand out of the robe and it was changed. His hand was covered with spots that were white like snow.

⁷ Then God said, “Now put your hand into your robe again.” So Moses put his hand into his robe again. Then he brought his hand out, and his hand was changed. Now his hand was good again, as it was before.

⁸ Then God said, “If the people don’t believe you when you use your walking stick, then they will believe you when you show them this sign. ⁹ If they still refuse to believe after you show them both of these signs, then take some water from the Nile River. Pour the water on the ground, and as soon as it touches the ground, it will become blood.”

¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord , “But, Lord, I am telling you, I am not a good speaker. I have never been able to speak well. And that hasn’t changed since you started talking to me. I am still not a good speaker. You know that I speak slowly and don’t use the best words.” ^{[ b ]}

¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who made a person’s mouth? And who can make someone deaf or not able to speak? Who can make a person blind? Who can make a person able to see? I am the one. I am the Lord . ¹² So go. I will be with you when you speak. I will give you the words to say.”

¹³ But Moses said, “My Lord, I beg you to send someone else, not me.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord became angry with Moses and said, “All right! I’ll give you someone to help you. Aaron the Levite is your brother, isn’t he? He is a good speaker. In fact, Aaron is already coming to meet you, and he will be happy to see you. ¹⁵ I will tell you what to say. Then you will tell Aaron, and I will help him say it well. I will tell both of you what to do. ¹⁶ So Aaron will speak for you. Like God, you will speak to him, and he will tell the people what you say. ¹⁷ So go and carry your walking stick with you. Use it and the other miracles to show the people that I am with you.”

Moses Leaves Midian

¹⁸ Then Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law. Moses said to him, “Please let me go back to Egypt. I want to see if my people are still alive.”

Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

¹⁹ Then, while Moses was still in Midian, the Lord said to him, “It is safe for you to go back to Egypt now. The men who wanted to kill you are now dead.”

²⁰ So Moses put his wife and children on the donkey and returned to Egypt. He carried his walking stick with him—the walking stick with the power of God.

²¹ While Moses was traveling back to Egypt, the Lord spoke to him, “When you talk to Pharaoh remember to show him all the miracles that I have given you the power to do. But I will cause Pharaoh to be very stubborn. He will not let the people go. ²² Then you should say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. ²³ And I am telling you to let my son go and worship me. If you refuse to let Israel go, then I will kill your firstborn son.’”

Moses’ Son Circumcised

²⁴ On the way to Egypt, Moses stopped at a place to spend the night. The Lord met Moses at that place and tried to kill him. ^{[ c ]} ²⁵ But Zipporah took a flint knife ^{[ d ]} and circumcised her son. She took the skin and touched his feet. Then she said to Moses, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me.” ²⁶ Zipporah said this because she had to circumcise her son. So God let Moses live. ^{[ e ]}

Moses Arrives in Egypt

²⁷ The Lord had spoken to Aaron and told him, “Go out into the desert and meet Moses.” So Aaron went and met Moses at the Mountain of God. ^{[ f ]} He saw Moses and kissed him. ²⁸ Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had commanded him to say and all the miracles he must do to prove that God had sent him.

²⁹ So Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the Israelites. ³⁰ Then Aaron spoke to the people and told them everything the Lord had told Moses. Then Moses did the miracles for all the people to see, ³¹ and they believed what they had heard. Then the Israelites understood that the Lord had seen their troubles and had come to help them. So they bowed down and worshiped God.

Footnotes

Exodus 4:1 The Lord Or “ Yahweh .” See “ Yahweh ” in the Word List.
Exodus 4:10 I speak … words Or “I stutter and don’t speak clearly.”
Exodus 4:24 tried to kill him Or possibly, “wanted to circumcise him.”
Exodus 4:25 flint knife A sharp knife made from flint rock.
Exodus 4:26 Or “And he was healed. She said, ‘You are a bridegroom of blood’ because of the circumcision.”
Exodus 4:27 Mountain of God That is, Mount Horeb (Sinai).

4 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.

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

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ?

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

²² And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord , Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

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.

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

²⁶ So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, 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.

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

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

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

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.

Moses Given Signs

4 Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or ^{( A )} listen ^{[ a ]} to what I say? For they may say, ‘ ^{( B )} The Lord has not appeared to you.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “ ^{( C )} A staff.” ³ Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and ^{( D )} it turned into a serpent; and Moses fled from it. ⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he reached out with his hand and caught it, and it turned into a staff in his ^{[ b ]} hand— ⁵ “so that ^{( E )} they may believe that ^{( F )} the Lord , the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

⁶ The Lord furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand inside the fold of your robe.” So he put his hand inside the fold, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was ^{( G )} leprous like snow. ⁷ Then He said, “Put your hand inside the fold of your robe again.” So he put his hand into the fold again, and when he took it out of the fold, behold, ^{( H )} it was restored like the rest of his flesh. ⁸ “So if they will not believe you nor ^{[ c ]} pay attention to the ^{[ d ]} evidence of the first ^{[ e ]} sign, they may believe the ^{[ f ]} evidence of the last ^{[ g ]} sign. ⁹ But if they will not believe even these two ^{[ h ]} signs nor pay attention to what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile ^{( I )} will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord , “Please, Lord, ^{( J )} I have never been ^{[ i ]} eloquent, neither ^{[ j ]} recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am ^{[ k ]} slow of speech and ^{[ l ]} slow of tongue.” ¹¹ But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or ^{( K )} who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord ? ¹² Now then go, and ^{( L )} I Myself will be with your mouth, and ^{( M )} instruct you in what you are to say.” ¹³ But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by ^{[ m ]} whomever You will.”

Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece

¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that ^{[ n ]} he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, ^{( N )} he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be ^{[ o ]} overjoyed. ¹⁵ So you are to speak to him and ^{( O )} put the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do. ¹⁶ ^{( P )} He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. ¹⁷ And you shall take in your hand ^{( Q )} this staff, ^{( R )} with which you shall perform the signs.”

¹⁸ Then Moses departed and returned to ^{( S )} his father-in-law ^{[ p ]} Jethro, and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go ^{[ q ]} back to Egypt, for ^{( T )} all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his ^{( U )} sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the ^{( V )} staff of God in his hand.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go ^{[ r ]} back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all ^{( W )} the wonders which I have put in your ^{[ s ]} power; but ^{( X )} I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: “ ^{( Y )} Israel is My son, My firstborn. ²³ So I said to you, ‘ ^{( Z )} Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, ^{( AA )} I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

²⁴ But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the Lord met ^{[ t ]} Moses, and ^{( AB )} sought to put him to death. ²⁵ So Zipporah took ^{( AC )} a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and ^{[ u ]} threw it at Moses’ feet; and she said, “You are indeed a groom of blood to me!” ²⁶ So He left him alone. At that time she said, “ You are a groom of blood”— ^{[ v ]} because of the circumcision.

²⁷ ^{( AD )} Now the Lord said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the ^{( AE )} mountain of God and kissed him. ²⁸ ^{( AF )} Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and ^{( AG )} all the signs that He had commanded him to do . ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron went and ^{( AH )} assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; ³⁰ and ^{( AI )} Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the ^{( AJ )} signs in the sight of the people. ³¹ So ^{( AK )} the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord ^{[ w ]} ^{( AL )} was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, ^{( AM )} they bowed low and worshiped.

Footnotes

Exodus 4:1 Lit to my voice
Exodus 4:4 Lit palm
Exodus 4:8 Lit listen to
Exodus 4:8 Lit voice
Exodus 4:8 I.e., confirming miracle
Exodus 4:8 Lit voice
Exodus 4:8 I.e., confirming miracle
Exodus 4:9 I.e., confirming miracles
Exodus 4:10 Lit a man of words
Exodus 4:10 Lit yesterday
Exodus 4:10 Lit heavy
Exodus 4:10 Lit heavy
Exodus 4:13 Lit the hand You send
Exodus 4:14 Lit speaking he speaks
Exodus 4:14 Lit joyful in his heart
Exodus 4:18 Heb Jether
Exodus 4:19 Lit return
Exodus 4:21 Lit to return
Exodus 4:21 Lit hand
Exodus 4:24 Lit him
Exodus 4:25 Lit made it touch at his feet
Exodus 4:26 Lit with reference to
Exodus 4:31 Lit had visited

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Table of Contents

God shows Moses some strange things

Moses returns to Egypt

Footnotes

Proof for Moses

Moses Leaves Midian

Moses’ Son Circumcised

Moses Arrives in Egypt

Footnotes

Moses Given Signs

Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece

Footnotes

Cross references

Signs for Moses

Moses Returns to Egypt

Footnotes

Cross references

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BibleStudyIt Exodus 4

Exodus 4's Chapter Tabs Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.

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God shows Moses some strange things

Moses returns to Egypt

Footnotes

Proof for Moses

Moses Leaves Midian

Moses’ Son Circumcised

Moses Arrives in Egypt

Footnotes

Moses Given Signs

Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece

Footnotes

Cross references

Signs for Moses

Moses Returns to Egypt

Footnotes

Cross references

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