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.”

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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

Moses Argues with God

Then Moses answered, “Look, they won’t believe me and they won’t listen to me.[a] Instead, they’ll say, ‘The Lord didn’t appear to you.’”

“What’s that in your hand?” the Lord asked him.

Moses[b] answered, “A staff.”[c]

Then God[d] said, “Throw it to the ground.” He threw it to the ground and it became a snake. Moses ran away from it.

Then God told Moses, “Reach out[e] and grab its tail.” So he reached out, grabbed it, and it became a staff[f] in his hand. God said, “I’ve done this[g] so that they may believe that the Lord God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

Again the Lord told him, “Put your hand into your bosom.”[h] He put his hand into his bosom and as soon as he brought it out it was leprous, like snow.[i] Then God[j] said, “Put your hand back into your bosom.” He returned it[k] to his bosom and as soon as he brought it out,[l] it was restored like the rest of[m] his skin.[n]

“Then if they don’t believe you and respond to the first sign, they may respond to the second[o] sign. But if they don’t believe even these two signs, and won’t listen to you, then take some water out of the Nile River[p] and pour it on the dry ground. The water you took from the Nile River[q] will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 4:1 Lit. to my voice. And so through the passage
  2. Exodus 4:2 Lit. he
  3. Exodus 4:2 Or rod
  4. Exodus 4:3 Lit. he
  5. Exodus 4:4 Lit. Stretch out your hand
  6. Exodus 4:4 Or rod
  7. Exodus 4:5 The Heb. lacks God said, “I have done this
  8. Exodus 4:6 I.e. under the folds of the garment at the chest
  9. Exodus 4:6 I.e. his hand was white
  10. Exodus 4:7 Lit. He
  11. Exodus 4:7 Lit. his hand
  12. Exodus 4:7 Lit. out from his bosom
  13. Exodus 4:7 The Heb. lacks the rest of
  14. Exodus 4:7 Lit. flesh
  15. Exodus 4:8 Lit. latter
  16. Exodus 4:9 The Heb. lacks River
  17. Exodus 4:9 The Heb. lacks River