Exodus 4:19-31

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹⁹ And the Lord said to Moses in Mid′ian, “Go back to Egypt; for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on an ass, and went back to the land of Egypt; and in his hand Moses took the rod of God.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles which I have put in your power; but I will 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 first-born son, ²³ and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me”; if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your first-born son.’”

²⁴ At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to kill him. ²⁵ Then Zippo′rah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’ feet with it, and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” ²⁶ So he let him alone. Then it was that she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went, and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. ²⁸ And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him, and all the signs which he had charged him to do. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. ³⁰ And 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 people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.