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 神賜摩西的印證

摩西回答:“看哪,他們必不信我,也不聽我的話;因為他們必說:‘耶和華並沒有向你顯現。’” 耶和華問摩西:“那在你手裡的是甚麼?”他說:“是手杖。” 耶和華說:“把它丟在地上。”摩西把它一丟在地上,它就變了蛇;摩西就逃跑,離開了牠。 耶和華對摩西說:“伸出你的手來,捉住蛇的尾巴。”摩西就伸出手來,緊握著牠,牠在摩西的掌中又變回了手杖。 “這樣就使他們相信耶和華他們祖宗的 神,就是亞伯拉罕的 神、以撒的 神、雅各的 神曾向你顯現了。” 耶和華又再對摩西說:“現在把你的手放進懷裡。”摩西就把手放進懷裡;等他把手抽出來的時候,手就長滿了痲風,像雪那樣白。 耶和華說:“把你的手再放進懷裡。”摩西就把手再放進懷裡;等他把手從懷裡抽出來的時候,手就恢復過來,像身上別處的肉一樣。 耶和華又說:“如果他們不信你,也不聽從頭一個神蹟的話,他們必信隨後來的神蹟。 如果連這兩個神蹟他們也不信,也不聽你的話,你就從河裡取些水,倒在旱地上;你從河裡取來的水就必在旱地上變成血。”

亞倫作摩西的代言人

10 摩西對耶和華說:“主啊,我不是個會說話的人;以前不是,自從你對僕人說話以後也不是;因為我本是拙口笨舌的。” 11 耶和華對他說:“誰造人的口呢?誰使人口啞、耳聾、眼明、眼瞎呢?不是我耶和華嗎? 12 現在去吧,我必賜你口才,指教你當說的。” 13 摩西說:“主啊,請你差派你願意差派的人。” 14 耶和華向摩西發怒,說:“不是有你的哥哥利未人亞倫嗎?我知道他是有口才的;他現在出來要迎接你。他看見了你,心裡就快樂。 15 你要對他說話,把你要說的話放在他的口裡;我必與你的口同在,也與他的口同在;我必指教你們當行的事。 16 他要替你向人民說話,他要作你的口,你要作他的 神。 17 這手杖你要拿在手裡,用來行神蹟。”

摩西返回埃及

18 於是,摩西起程回到他岳父葉忒羅那裡,對他說:“請你容我離開這裡,回到我在埃及的同胞那裡,看看他們是否還在。”葉忒羅對摩西說:“你可以平平安安地去吧。” 19 耶和華在米甸對摩西說:“你要起程,回到埃及去,因為那些尋索你命的人都死了。” 20 摩西就帶著他的妻子和孩子,讓他們騎在驢上,向著埃及地回去了;摩西手裡拿著 神的杖。 21 耶和華對摩西說:“你起程回到埃及去的時候,要留意我交在你手裡的一切奇事,把它們行在法老面前;我卻要使他的心剛硬,他就不讓人民離開。 22 你要對法老說:‘耶和華這樣說:以色列是我的長子。 23 我曾對你說,要讓我的兒子離開這裡,好叫他事奉我。你還是拒絕讓他離開,看哪!我必殺你的長子。’”

24 在路上住宿的地方,耶和華遇見了摩西,就想要殺他。 25 西坡拉就拿了一把石刀,把她兒子的包皮割下來,把它丟到摩西的腳上,說:“你真是我的血郎了!” 26 這樣,耶和華才放了他。那時西坡拉說:“你是血郎,是因為割禮的緣故。”

27 耶和華對亞倫說:“你到曠野去迎接摩西。”他就去了;他在 神的山遇見了摩西,就和他親吻。 28 摩西把耶和華派他所說的一切話,和吩咐他所行的一切神蹟都告訴了亞倫。 29 摩西和亞倫就去召集以色列人的眾長老。 30 亞倫把耶和華對摩西所說的一切話都說了一遍,並且在人民的眼前行了這些神蹟。 31 人民就相信了;他們聽見耶和華眷顧以色列人,也鑒察了他們的痛苦,就俯伏敬拜。

Moses Given Signs

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.’” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “(C)A staff.” 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. 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— “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.”

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. 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. “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. 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

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

Miraculous Signs for Moses

Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear(A) to you’?”

The Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,” he replied.

“Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it. The Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. “This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”(B)

In addition the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, resembling snow.[a](C) “Put your hand back inside your cloak,” he said. So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it had again become like the rest of his skin.(D) “If they will not believe you and will not respond to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the second sign. And if they don’t believe even these two signs or listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”(E)

10 But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant—because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”[b](F)

11 The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?(G) 12 Now go! I will help you speak[c] and I will teach you what to say.”(H)

13 Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”[d]

14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, and he said, “Isn’t Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you. 15 You will speak with him and tell him what to say.(I) I will help both you and him to speak[e] and will teach you both what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you. He will serve as a mouth for you, and you will serve as God to him. 17 And take this staff in your hand that you will perform the signs with.”(J)

Moses’s Return to Egypt

18 Then Moses went back to his father-in-law, Jethro, and said to him, “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still living.”

Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

19 Now in Midian the Lord told Moses, “Return to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”(K) 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took God’s staff(L) in his hand.

21 The Lord instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart[f](M) so that he won’t let the people go. 22 And you will say to Pharaoh: This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.(N) 23 I told you: Let my son go so that he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. Look, I am about to kill your firstborn son!” (O)

24 On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the Lord confronted him and intended to put him to death. 25 So Zipporah took a flint, cut off her son’s foreskin, threw it at Moses’s feet, and said, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!” (P) 26 So he let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” referring to the circumcision.

Reunion of Moses and Aaron

27 Now the Lord had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.(Q) 28 Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and about all the signs he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. 30 Aaron repeated everything the Lord had said to Moses and performed the signs before the people. 31 The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had paid attention(R) to them and that he had seen their misery,(S) they knelt low and worshiped.

Footnotes

  1. 4:6 A reference to whiteness or flakiness of the skin
  2. 4:10 Lit heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue
  3. 4:12 Lit will be with your mouth
  4. 4:13 Lit send by the hand of whom you will send
  5. 4:15 Lit will be with your mouth and with his mouth
  6. 4:21 Or will make him stubborn