Exodus 4:18-28
New American Standard Bible
18 Then Moses departed and returned to (A)his father-in-law [a]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 [b]back to Egypt, for (B)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his (C)sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the (D)staff of God in his hand.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go [c]back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all (E)the wonders which I have put in your [d]power; but (F)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: “(G)Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I said to you, ‘(H)Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, (I)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 [e]Moses, and (J)sought to put him to death. 25 So Zipporah took (K)a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and [f]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”—[g]because of the circumcision.
27 (L)Now the Lord said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the (M)mountain of God and kissed him. 28 (N)Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and (O)all the signs that He had commanded him to do.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 4:18 Heb Jether
- Exodus 4:19 Lit return
- Exodus 4:21 Lit to return
- Exodus 4:21 Lit hand
- Exodus 4:24 Lit him
- Exodus 4:25 Lit made it touch at his feet
- Exodus 4:26 Lit with reference to
Exodus 4:18-28
International Standard Version
Moses Decides to Return to Egypt
18 Moses left and returned to his father-in-law Jethro. Moses[a] told him, “Please let me go and return to my own people[b] in Egypt so I can see whether they’re still alive.”
Jethro told Moses, “Go in peace.”
19 The Lord told Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, because all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on donkeys, and headed back to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
21 Then the Lord told Moses, “When you set out to return to Egypt, keep in mind[c] all the wonders that I’ve put in your power,[d] so that you may do them before Pharaoh. But I’ll harden his heart so that he won’t let the people go. 22 You are to say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Israel is my firstborn son. 23 And I say to you, ‘Let my son go so he may serve me. If you refuse to let him go, then I will kill your firstborn son.’”’”
Zipporah Circumcises Moses’ Son
24 But later on, at the lodging place along the way, the Lord met Moses[e] and was about to kill him. 25 Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’[f] feet with it, saying while doing so,[g] “…because you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 Then the Lord[h] withdrew from him, and she said, “…a bridegroom of blood because of circumcision.”
Moses and Aaron Meet and Return to Egypt
27 The Lord told Aaron, “Go meet Moses in the desert.” So Aaron[i] went, found[j] him at the mountain of God, and embraced[k] him. 28 Moses told Aaron all of the Lord’s messages that he had sent with Moses, and all of the signs that he commanded him to do.[l]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 4:18 Lit. he
- Exodus 4:18 Lit. my brothers
- Exodus 4:21 Lit. see, watch
- Exodus 4:21 Lit. hand
- Exodus 4:24 Lit. him
- Exodus 4:25 Lit. his
- Exodus 4:25 Lit. touched to his feet
- Exodus 4:26 Lit. Then he
- Exodus 4:27 Lit. he
- Exodus 4:27 Lit. encountered
- Exodus 4:27 Lit. kissed
- Exodus 4:28 The Heb. lacks to do
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