Exodus 4
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
4 And Moses answered, [a]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 And the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod.
3 And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he did so and it became a serpent [the symbol of royal and divine power worn on the crown of the Pharaohs]; and Moses fled from before it.
4 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 [This you shall do, said the Lord] 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 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 [God] 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 [Then God said] 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 But if they will also not believe these two signs or heed your voice, you shall take some water of the river [Nile] and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which you take out of the river [Nile] shall become blood on the dry land.
10 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 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 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall say.
13 And he said, Oh, my Lord, I pray You, send by the hand of [some other] whom You will [send].
14 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 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 He shall speak for you to the people, acting as a mouthpiece for you, and you shall be as God to him.
17 And you shall take this rod in your hand with which you shall work the signs [that prove I sent you].
18 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 The Lord said to Moses in Midian, Go back to Egypt; for all the men who were seeking your life [for killing the Egyptian] are dead.(A)
20 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 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 And you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is My son, even My firstborn.
23 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 Along the way at a [resting-] place, the Lord met [Moses] and sought to kill him [made him acutely and almost fatally ill].
25 [Now apparently he had [b]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 [Moses’] feet, and said, Surely a husband of blood you are to me!
26 When He let [Moses] alone [to recover], Zipporah said, A husband of blood are you because of the circumcision.
27 The Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mountain of God [Horeb, or Sinai] and kissed him.
28 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 Moses and Aaron went and gathered together [in Egypt] all the elders of the Israelites.
30 Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to 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 Israelites, and that He had looked [in compassion] upon their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Footnotes
- Exodus 4:1 There need be no “buts” in our relationship to God’s will. Nothing will take the Lord by surprise. The entire field has been surveyed and the preparations are complete. When the Lord says, “I will send thee,” every provision has been made for the appointed task. “I will not fail thee.” He who gives the command will also give the equipment (John Henry Jowett, My Daily Meditation).
- Exodus 4:25 He who is on his way to liberate the people of the circumcision has in Midian even neglected to circumcise his second son Eliezer (J.P. Lange, A Commentary). It was necessary that at this stage of Moses’ experience he should learn that God is in earnest when He speaks, and will assuredly perform all that He has threatened (J.G. Murphy, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus).
出埃及 4
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
上帝赐摩西能力
4 摩西回答说：“他们不会相信我或听我的话，他们会说，‘耶和华根本没有向你显现。’” 2 耶和华对摩西说：“你手里拿的是什么？”摩西说：“是一根手杖。” 3 耶和华说：“把它丢在地上！”于是，摩西把杖丢在地上，杖变成了一条蛇。摩西连忙跑开。 4 耶和华说：“你伸手抓住它的尾巴！”摩西就伸手抓蛇的尾巴，蛇在他手中变回了杖。 5 耶和华说：“这样，他们就会相信他们祖先的上帝耶和华，就是亚伯拉罕、以撒和雅各的上帝，曾经向你显现。”
6 耶和华又说：“把手放进怀里。”摩西把手放进怀里，手抽出来的时候，竟患了麻风病，像雪一样白。 7 耶和华说：“再把手放进怀里。”摩西又把手放进怀里，这次再抽出来的时候，手已经复原，跟其他地方的皮肉一样。 8 耶和华说：“纵然他们不听你的话，不信第一个神迹，也必定相信第二个神迹。 9 如果他们两个神迹都不相信，还是不听你的话，你就从尼罗河里取些水来倒在旱地上，那水就会在旱地上变成血。”
10 摩西对耶和华说：“主啊！我向来不善言辞，即使你对仆人说话以后，我还是不善言辞，因为我是个拙口笨舌的人。” 11 耶和华对他说：“是谁造人的口舌？是谁使人变成哑巴或聋子？是谁使人目明或眼瞎？不都是我耶和华吗？ 12 去吧！我必赐给你口才，指示你说什么话。” 13 但是摩西说：“主啊，请派其他人去吧。” 14 耶和华向摩西发怒说：“利未人亚伦不是你哥哥吗？他是个能言善辨的人，正要来迎接你。他见到你一定很欢喜。 15 你要把该说的话传给他，我会赐你们口才，教你们如何行事。 16 他要替你向百姓说话，做你的发言人，你对他来说就像上帝一样。 17 你要把手杖带在身边，以便行神迹。”
18 摩西回到家里，对他的岳父叶忒罗说：“求你让我回埃及去探望我的亲人，看看他们是否在世。”叶忒罗说：“你平安地去吧。” 19 耶和华在米甸对摩西说：“你只管放心回埃及去，想害你性命的人都已经死了。” 20 于是，摩西拿着上帝的杖，带着妻子和儿子骑驴返回埃及。 21 耶和华对摩西说：“你到了埃及，见到法老的时候，务要照我赐给你的能力在法老面前行神迹。但我要使他的心刚硬，他必不让百姓离开。 22 那时，你就告诉法老，‘耶和华说，以色列是我的长子， 23 我对你说过让我的长子出去事奉我，但你执意不肯。看啊，我要杀你的长子。’”
24 摩西在途中夜宿的时候，耶和华遇见摩西，想要杀他。 25 他的妻子西坡拉拿起锋利的火石，割下儿子的包皮，放在摩西脚前，说：“你真是我的血郎。” 26 这样，耶和华才没杀他。当时，西坡拉说“血郎”是指割礼一事。
27 耶和华对亚伦说：“你到旷野去迎接摩西。”他就在上帝的山上遇见摩西，并亲吻他。 28 摩西把耶和华吩咐他的以及要他行的神迹都告诉了亚伦。 29 摩西和亚伦一起回去招聚以色列的众长老， 30 亚伦把耶和华对摩西的吩咐详细地告诉他们。摩西又在百姓面前行了那些神迹， 31 百姓相信了。以色列人听见耶和华眷顾他们、看到了他们的苦难，都俯伏敬拜祂。
Exodus 4
1599 Geneva Bible
4 3 Moses’ rod is turned into a serpent. 6 His hand is leprous. 9 The water of the river is turned into blood. 14 Aaron is given to help Moses. 21 God hardeneth Pharaoh. 25 Moses’ wife circumciseth her son.
1 Then Moses answered, and said, [a]But lo, 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 answered, A rod.
3 Then said he, Cast it on the ground. So he cast it on the ground, and it was turned into a serpent: and Moses fled from it.
4 Again the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. Then he put forth his hand and caught it, and it was turned into a rod in his hand.
5 Do this [b]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, Thrust now thine hand into thy bosom. And he thrust his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out again, behold his hand was [c]leprous as snow.
7 Moreover he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. So 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 So shall it be, if they will not believe thee, neither obey [d]the voice of the first sign, yet shall they believe for the voice of the second sign.
9 But if they will not yet believe these two signs, neither obey unto thy voice, then shalt thou take of the [e]water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: so the water which thou shalt take out of the river, shall be turned to blood upon the dry land.
10 ¶ But Moses said unto the Lord, Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent, [f]neither at any time have been, nor yet since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am [g]slow of speech and slow of tongue.
11 Then the Lord said unto him, Who hath given the mouth to man? or who hath made the dumb, or the deaf, or him that seeth, or the blind? have not I the Lord?
12 Therefore go now, and (A)I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt say.
13 But he said, Oh my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the [h]hand of him, whom thou [i]shouldest send.
14 Then the Lord was [j]very angry with Moses, and said, Do not I know Aaron thy brother the Levite, that he himself shall speak? for lo, he cometh also forth to meet thee, and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
15 Therefore thou shalt speak unto him, and [k]put the words in his mouth, and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye ought to do.
16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be as thy mouth, and thou shalt be to him as (B)[l]God.
17 Moreover thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do miracles.
18 ¶ Therefore Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said unto him, I pray thee, let me go, and return to my [m]brethren, which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. Then Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.
19 (For the Lord had said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return to Egypt: for they are all dead which [n]went about to kill thee.)
20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons, and [o]put them on an ass, and returned toward the land of Egypt, and Moses took the [p]rod of God in his hand.
21 And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou art entered and come into Egypt again, see that thou do all the wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will [q]harden his heart, and he shall not let the people go.
22 Then thou shalt say to Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my [r]firstborn.
23 Wherefore I say to thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
24 ¶ And as he was by the way in the Inn, the Lord met him, and [s]would have killed him.
25 Then Zipporah took a sharp knife, and [t]cut away the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Thou art indeed a bloody husband unto me.
26 So [u]he departed from him. Then she said, O bloody husband (because of the circumcision).
27 ¶ Then the Lord said unto Aaron, Go meet Moses in the wilderness. And he went and met him in the [v]Mount of God, and kissed him.
28 Then Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, who had sent him, and all the signs wherewith he had charged him.
29 ¶ So went Moses and Aaron, and gathered all the elders of the children of Israel.
30 And Aaron told all the words, which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and he did the miracles in the sight of the people.
31 And the [w]people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and had looked upon their tribulation, they bowed down, and worshipped.
Footnotes
- Exodus 4:1 God beareth with Moses’ doubting, because he was not altogether without faith.
- Exodus 4:5 This power to work miracles was to confirm his doctrine, and to assure him of his vocation.
- Exodus 4:6 Or, white as snow.
- Exodus 4:8 Or, the words confirmed by the first sign.
- Exodus 4:9 Because these three signs should be sufficient witnesses to prove that Moses should deliver God’s people.
- Exodus 4:10 Hebrew, from yesterday, and ere yesterday.
- Exodus 4:10 Hebrew, heavy of mouth.
- Exodus 4:13 Or, ministry.
- Exodus 4:13 That is, the Messiah: or some other, that is more meet than I.
- Exodus 4:14 Though we provoke God justly to anger, yet he will never reject his.
- Exodus 4:15 Thou shalt instruct him what to say.
- Exodus 4:16 Meaning, as a wise counselor and full of God’s spirit.
- Exodus 4:18 Or, kinsfolk, and lineage.
- Exodus 4:19 Hebrew, sought thy soul.
- Exodus 4:20 Hebrew, caused them to ride.
- Exodus 4:20 Whereby he wrought the miracles.
- Exodus 4:21 By receiving my spirit and delivering him unto Satan to increase his malice.
- Exodus 4:22 Meaning, most dear unto him.
- Exodus 4:24 God punished him with sickness for neglecting his Sacrament.
- Exodus 4:25 This act was extraordinary: for Moses was sore sick, and God even then required it.
- Exodus 4:26 Or, the Angel.
- Exodus 4:27 Or, Horeb.
- Exodus 4:31 So that Moses had now experience of God’s promise that he should have good success.
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