Exodus 4
The Message
4 Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!’”
2 So God said, “What’s that in your hand?”
“A staff.”
3 “Throw it on the ground.” He threw it. It became a snake; Moses jumped back—fast!
4-5 God said to Moses, “Reach out and grab it by the tail.” He reached out and grabbed it—and he was holding his staff again. “That’s so they will trust that God appeared to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
6 God then said, “Put your hand inside your shirt.” He slipped his hand under his shirt, then took it out. His hand had turned leprous, like snow.
7 He said, “Put your hand back under your shirt.” He did it, then took it back out—as healthy as before.
8-9 “So if they don’t trust you and aren’t convinced by the first sign, the second sign should do it. But if it doesn’t, if even after these two signs they don’t trust you and listen to your message, take some water out of the Nile and pour it out on the dry land; the Nile water that you pour out will turn to blood when it hits the ground.”
10 Moses raised another objection to God: “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.”
11-12 God said, “And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, God? So, get going. I’ll be right there with you—with your mouth! I’ll be right there to teach you what to say.”
13 He said, “Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!”
14-17 God got angry with Moses: “Don’t you have a brother, Aaron the Levite? He’s good with words, I know he is. He speaks very well. In fact, at this very moment he’s on his way to meet you. When he sees you he’s going to be glad. You’ll speak to him and tell him what to say. I’ll be right there with you as you speak and with him as he speaks, teaching you step by step. He will speak to the people for you. He’ll act as your mouth, but you’ll decide what comes out of it. Now take this staff in your hand; you’ll use it to do the signs.”
* * *
18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said, “I need to return to my relatives who are in Egypt. I want to see if they’re still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go. And peace be with you.”
19 God said to Moses in Midian: “Go. Return to Egypt. All the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”
20 So Moses took his wife and sons and put them on a donkey for the return trip to Egypt. He had a firm grip on the staff of God.
21-23 God said to Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, be prepared: All the wonders that I will do through you, you’ll do before Pharaoh. But I will make him stubborn so that he will refuse to let the people go. Then you are to tell Pharaoh, ‘God’s Message: Israel is my son, my firstborn! I told you, “Free my son so that he can serve me.” But you refused to free him. So now I’m going to kill your son, your firstborn.’”
* * *
24-26 On the journey back, as they camped for the night, God met Moses and would have killed him but Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’ member with it. She said, “Oh! You’re a bridegroom of blood to me!” Then God let him go. She used the phrase “bridegroom of blood” because of the circumcision.
* * *
27-28 God spoke to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” He went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. Moses told Aaron the message that God had sent him to speak and the wonders he had commanded him to do.
29-31 So Moses and Aaron proceeded to round up all the leaders of Israel. Aaron told them everything that God had told Moses and demonstrated the wonders before the people. And the people trusted and listened believingly that God was concerned with what was going on with the Israelites and knew all about their affliction. They bowed low and they worshiped.
Exodus 4
International Children’s Bible
Proof for Moses
4 Then Moses answered, “What if the people of Israel do not believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
Moses answered, “It is my walking stick.”
3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
So Moses threw it on the ground. And it became a snake. Moses ran from the snake. 4 But the Lord said to him, “Reach out and grab the snake by its tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake. When he did this, it again became a stick in his hand. 5 The Lord said, “When this happens, the Israelites will believe that the Lord appeared to you. I am the God of their ancestors. 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 coat.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took his hand out, it was white with a harmful skin disease.
7 Then the Lord said, “Now put your hand inside your coat again.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat again. When he took it out, his hand was healthy again. It was like the rest of his skin.
8 Then the Lord said, “The people may not believe you or be convinced by the first miracle. They may believe you when you show them this second miracle. 9 After these two miracles they still may not believe or listen to you. Then take some water from the Nile River. Pour it on the dry ground. The water will become blood when it touches the ground.”
10 But Moses said to the Lord, “But Lord, I am not a skilled speaker. I have never been able to speak well. And now, even after talking to you, I am not a good speaker. I speak slowly and can’t find the best words.”
11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who made man’s mouth? And who makes him deaf or not able to speak? Or who gives a man sight or makes him blind? It is I, the Lord. 12 Now go! I will help you speak. I will tell you what to say.”
13 But Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
14 The Lord became angry with Moses. He said, “Your brother Aaron, from the family of Levi, is a skilled speaker. He is already coming to meet you. And he will be happy when he sees you. 15 I will tell you what to say. Then you will tell Aaron. I will help both of you know what to say and do. 16 And Aaron will speak to the people for you. You will tell him what God says. And he will speak for you. 17 Take your walking stick with you. Use it to do the miracles.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law. Moses said to him, “Let me go back to my people in Egypt. I want to see if they are still alive.”
Jethro said to Moses, “You may go. Have a safe trip.”
19 While Moses was still in Midian, the Lord said to him, “Go back to Egypt. The men who wanted to kill you are dead now.”
20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and put them on a donkey. Then he started back to Egypt. He took with him the walking stick of God.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, do all the miracles. I have given you the power to do them. Show them to the king of Egypt. But I will make the king very stubborn. He will not let the people go. 22 Then say to the king: ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. 23 And I told you to let my son go. Let him go so he may worship me. But you refused to let Israel go. So I will kill your firstborn son.’”
24 As Moses was on his way to Egypt, he stopped at a resting place for the night. The Lord met him there and tried to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She took the skin and touched Moses’ feet with it. Then she said to him, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 Zipporah said this because she had to circumcise her son. So the Lord did not kill Moses.
27 Meanwhile the Lord said to Aaron, “Go out into the desert to meet Moses.” When Aaron went, he met Moses at Sinai, the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had said to him when he sent him to Egypt. And Moses told him about the miracles which the Lord had commanded him to do.
29 So Moses and Aaron gathered all the elders of the Israelites. 30 Aaron told them everything that the Lord had told Moses. Then Moses did the miracles for all the people to see. 31 So the Israelites believed. They heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their troubles. Then they bowed down and worshiped him.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
