Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options Listen to Exodus 4-6
Close CSB

Exodus 4-6
Christian Standard Bible

Miraculous Signs for Moses

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

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

“A staff,” he replied.

3 “Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 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. 5 “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)

6 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) 7 “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) 8 “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. 9 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.

Moses Confronts Pharaoh

5 Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.”(T)

2 But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go?(U) I don’t know[g] the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”(V)

3 They answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword.”

4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor!” 5 Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labor.”(W)

Further Oppression of Israel

6 That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers(X) of the people as well as their foremen, 7 “Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out,(Y) ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words.”

10 So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says:(Z) ‘I am not giving you straw. 11 Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’” 12 So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The overseers insisted, “Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided.” 14 Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten(AA) and asked, “Why haven’t you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

15 So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way? 16 No straw has been given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but it is your own people who are at fault.”

17 But he said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work. No straw will be given to you, but you must produce the same quantity of bricks.”

19 The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.

21 “May the Lord take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek to Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!” (AB)

22 So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me?(AC) 23 Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all.”

6 But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.”(AD)

God Promises Freedom

2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’[h](AE) 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.(AF) 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered(AG) my covenant.

6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm(AH) and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people,(AI) and I will be your God. You will know(AJ) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore[i](AK) to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen(AL) to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.

10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”

12 But Moses said in the Lord’s presence, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?” [j](AM) 13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

14 These are the heads of their fathers’ families:

The sons of Reuben,(AN) the firstborn of Israel:

Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.

These are the clans of Reuben.

15 The sons of Simeon:(AO)

Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin,

Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

These are the clans of Simeon.

16 These are the names of the sons of Levi

according to their family records;

Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.(AP)

Levi lived 137 years.

17 The sons of Gershon:

Libni and Shimei, by their clans.

18 The sons of Kohath:

Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

Kohath lived 133 years.

19 The sons of Merari:

Mahli and Mushi.

These are the clans of the Levites(AQ)

according to their family records.

20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed,

and she bore him Aaron and Moses.(AR)

Amram lived 137 years.

21 The sons of Izhar:(AS)

Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

22 The sons of Uzziel:

Mishael, Elzaphan,(AT) and Sithri.

23 Aaron married Elisheba,

daughter of Amminadab(AU) and sister of Nahshon.

She bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.(AV)

24 The sons of Korah:(AW)

Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.

These are the clans of the Korahites.

25 Aaron’s son Eleazar married

one of the daughters of Putiel,

and she bore him Phinehas.(AX)

These are the heads of the Levite families by their clans.

26 It was this Aaron and Moses whom the Lord told, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions.”(AY) 27 Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh

28 On the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord;(AZ) tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I am telling you.”

30 But Moses replied in the Lord’s presence, “Since I am such a poor speaker,(BA) how will Pharaoh listen to me?”

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
  7. 5:2 Or recognize
  8. 6:3 Lord (in small capitals) stands for the personal name of God, which in Hb is Yahweh. There is a long tradition of substituting “Lord” for “Yahweh” out of reverence.
  9. 6:8 Lit raised my hand
  10. 6:12 Lit I have uncircumcised lips, also in v. 30
Listen to Exodus 4-6
Close NIV

Exodus 4-6
New International Version

Signs for Moses

4 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen(A) to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,”(B) he replied.

3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake,(C) and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe(D) that 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 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous[a]—it had become as white as snow.(E)

7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored,(F) like the rest of his flesh.

8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe(G) you or pay attention to the first sign,(H) they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood(I) on the ground.”

10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”(J)

11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute?(K) Who gives them sight or makes them blind?(L) Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go;(M) I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”(N)

13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”(O)

14 Then the Lord’s anger burned(P) against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet(Q) you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth;(R) I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth(S) and as if you were God to him.(T) 17 But take this staff(U) in your hand(V) so you can perform the signs(W) with it.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”

Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”

19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill(X) you are dead.(Y)” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons,(Z) put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff(AA) of God in his hand.

21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders(AB) I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart(AC) so that he will not let the people go.(AD) 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son,(AE) 23 and I told you, “Let my son go,(AF) so he may worship(AG) me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”(AH)

24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses[b] and was about to kill(AI) him. 25 But Zipporah(AJ) took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin(AK) and touched Moses’ feet with it.[c] “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain(AL) of God and kissed(AM) him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.

29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders(AN) of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs(AO) before the people, 31 and they believed.(AP) And when they heard that the Lord was concerned(AQ) about them and had seen their misery,(AR) they bowed down and worshiped.(AS)

Bricks Without Straw

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go,(AT) so that they may hold a festival(AU) to me in the wilderness.’”

2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,(AV) that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”(AW)

3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey(AX) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues(AY) or with the sword.”

4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?(AZ) Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,(BA) and you are stopping them from working.”

6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers(BB) and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;(BC) let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.(BD) They are lazy;(BE) that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’(BF) 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

10 Then the slave drivers(BG) and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced(BH) at all.’” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed,(BI) demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

15 Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

17 Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy!(BJ) That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work.(BK) You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”

19 The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge(BL) you! You have made us obnoxious(BM) to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword(BN) in their hand to kill us.”(BO)

God Promises Deliverance

22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?(BP) Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued(BQ) your people at all.”

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand(BR) he will let them go;(BS) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”(BT)

2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.(BU) 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,[d](BV) but by my name(BW) the Lord[e](BX) I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant(BY) with them to give them the land(BZ) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.(CA) 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning(CB) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.(CC)

6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.(CD) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem(CE) you with an outstretched arm(CF) and with mighty acts of judgment.(CG) 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.(CH) Then you will know(CI) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land(CJ) I swore(CK) with uplifted hand(CL) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.(CM) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”(CN)

9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.(CO)

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell(CP) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”(CQ)

12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen(CR) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips[f]?”(CS)

Family Record of Moses and Aaron

13 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.(CT)

14 These were the heads of their families[g]:(CU)

The sons of Reuben(CV) the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben.

15 The sons of Simeon(CW) were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.

16 These were the names of the sons of Levi(CX) according to their records: Gershon,(CY) Kohath and Merari.(CZ) Levi lived 137 years.

17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.(DA)

18 The sons of Kohath(DB) were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.(DC) Kohath lived 133 years.

19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.(DD)

These were the clans of Levi according to their records.

20 Amram(DE) married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses.(DF) Amram lived 137 years.

21 The sons of Izhar(DG) were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.

22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan(DH) and Sithri.

23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab(DI) and sister of Nahshon,(DJ) and she bore him Nadab and Abihu,(DK) Eleazar(DL) and Ithamar.(DM)

24 The sons of Korah(DN) were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.

25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.(DO)

These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.

26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt(DP) by their divisions.”(DQ) 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh(DR) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.(DS)

Aaron to Speak for Moses

28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord.(DT) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,(DU) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 4:6 The Hebrew word for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  2. Exodus 4:24 Hebrew him
  3. Exodus 4:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  4. Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  5. Exodus 6:3 See note at 3:15.
  6. Exodus 6:12 Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30
  7. Exodus 6:14 The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.
Next
Exodus 3
Exodus 7
Next
dropdown
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV