Then Moses answered and said, “What if they will not believe me and will not ^alisten to my voice? For they may say, ‘^bYahweh has not appeared to you.’” 2 And Yahweh said to him, “What is this in your hand?” And he said, “^aA staff.” 3 Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and ^ait became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his ¹hand— 5 “that ^athey may believe that ^bYahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

6 And Yahweh furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom; then he took it out, and behold, his hand was ^aleprous like snow. 7 Then He said, “Return your hand into your bosom.” So he returned his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, ^ait returned to being like the rest of his flesh. 8 “And so it will be, if they will not believe you or listen to the ¹witness of the first sign, they may believe the ²witness of ³this last sign. 9 But if it will be that they will not believe even these two signs and that they will not listen to your voice, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land; and the water which you take from the Nile ^awill become blood on the dry land.”

10 Then Moses said to Yahweh, “Please, Lord, ^aI have never been a man of words, neither ¹recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your slave; for I am one with a ²hard mouth and a ³hard tongue.” 11 And Yahweh said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or ^awho makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 12 So now, go, and ^aI, even I, will be with your mouth and will ^binstruct you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Please, Lord, ¹send now the message by whomever You will.” 14 Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that ¹he can certainly speak. And moreover, behold, ^ahe is coming out to meet you. And he will see you and be glad in his heart. 15 And you are to speak to him and ^aput the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct ¹you in what you shall do. 16 Moreover, ^ahe shall speak for you to the people; and he will become as a mouth for you, and you will become as God to him. 17 And you shall take in your hand ^athis staff, ^bwith which you shall do the signs.”

18 Then Moses went and returned to ¹Jethro ^ahis father-in-law 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 And Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt, for ^aall the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his ^asons and mounted them on a donkey and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the ^bstaff of God in his hand.

21 And Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go to return to Egypt, see to it that all ^athe miraculous wonders which I have put in your hand, that you do them before Pharaoh; but as for Me, ^bI will ¹harden his heart with strength so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “^aIsrael is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I said to you, ‘^aLet My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, ^bI will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

24 Now it happened at the lodging place on the way that Yahweh encountered him and ^asought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took ^aa flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched ¹his feet with it, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood” with reference to the circumcision.

27 ^aThen Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and encountered him at the ^bmountain of God and kissed him. 28 ^aAnd Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh with which He had sent him, and ^ball the signs that He had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and ^agathered all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30 and ^aAaron spoke all the words which Yahweh had spoken to Moses. He then did the ^bsigns in the sight of the people. 31 So ^athe people believed; and they heard that Yahweh ^1bcared about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction. So ^cthey bowed low and worshiped.

Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or ^alisten ¹to what I say? For they may say, ‘^bThe LORD has not appeared to you.’” 2 The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “^aA staff.” 3 Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and ^ait turned into a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 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 ¹hand— 5 “so that ^athey may believe that ^bthe LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

6 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 ^aleprous like snow. 7 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, ^ait was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “So if they will not believe you nor ¹pay attention to the ²evidence of the first ³sign, they may believe the ⁴evidence of the last ⁵sign. 9 But if they will not believe even these two ¹signs 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 ^awill turn into blood on the dry ground.”

10 Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, ^aI have never been ¹eloquent, neither ²recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am ³slow of speech and ⁴slow of tongue.” 11 But the LORD said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or ^awho makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now then go, and ^aI Myself will be with your mouth, and ^binstruct you in what you are to say.” 13 But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by ¹whomever You will.”

14 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that ¹he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, ^ahe is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be ²overjoyed. 15 So you are to speak to him and ^aput the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do. 16 ^aHe shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. 17 And you shall take in your hand ^athis staff, ^bwith which you shall perform the signs.”

18 Then Moses departed and returned to ^ahis father-in-law ¹Jethro, 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 ¹back to Egypt, for ^aall the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his ^asons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the ^bstaff of God in his hand.

21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go ¹back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all ^athe wonders which I have put in your ²power; but ^bI 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: “^aIsrael is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I said to you, ‘^aLet My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, ^bI am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

24 But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the LORD met ¹Moses, and ^asought to put him to death. 25 So Zipporah took ^aa flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and ¹threw 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”—¹because of the circumcision.

27 ^aNow the LORD said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the ^bmountain of God and kissed him. 28 ^aMoses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which He had sent him, and ^ball the signs that He had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and ^aassembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30 and ^aAaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. He then performed the ^bsigns in the sight of the people. 31 So ^athe people believed; and when they heard that the LORD ^1bwas concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, ^cthey bowed low and worshiped.