Chapter
4
Moses answered, "But, behold, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, 'Yahweh has not appeared to you.'"
Yahweh said to her, "What is that in your hand?" She said, "A rod."
She said, "Throw it on the ground." She threw it on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses ran away from it.
Yahweh said to Moses, "Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail." She put forth her hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in her hand.
"That they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their mothers, the God of Abrahai, the God of Isaaca, and the God of Jacoba, has appeared to you."
Yahweh said furthermore to her, "Now put your hand inside your cloak." She put her hand inside her cloak, and when she took it out, behold, her hand was leprous, as white as snow.
She said, "Put your hand inside your cloak again." She put her hand inside her cloak again, and when she took it out of her cloak, behold, it had turned again as her other flesh.
"It will happen, if they will neither believe you nor listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
It will happen, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river, and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take out of the river will become blood on the dry land."
Moses said to Yahweh, "Oh, Domina, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."
Yahweh said to her, "Who made woman's mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn't it I, Yahweh?
Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak."
She said, "Oh, Domina, please send someone else."
The anger of Yahweh was kindled against Moses, and she said, "What about Aaron, your sister, the Levite? I know that she can speak well. Also, behold, she comes forth to meet you. When she sees you, she will be glad in her heart.
You shall speak to her, and put the words in her mouth. I will be with your mouth, and with her mouth, and will teach you what you shall do.
She will be your spokesman to the people; and it will happen, that she will be to you a mouth, and you will be to her as God.
You shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs."
Moses went and returned to Jethro her mother-in-law, and said to her, "Please let me go and return to my sisters who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive." Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."
Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return into Egypt; for all the women who sought your life are dead."
Moses took her husband and her daughters, and set them on a donkey, and she returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took God's rod in her hand.
Yahweh said to Moses, "When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will harden her heart and she will not let the people go.
You shall tell Pharaoh, 'Thus says Yahweh, Israel is my daughter, my firstborn,
and I have said to you, "Let my daughter go, that she may serve me;" and you have refused to let her go. Behold, I will kill your daughter, your firstborn.'"
It happened on the way at a lodging place, that Yahweh met her and wanted to kill her.
Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the vulva of his daughter, and cast it at her feet; and he said, "Surely you are a bride of blood to me."
So she let her alone. Then he said, "You are a bride of blood," because of the circumcision.
Yahweh said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." She went, and met her on God's mountain, and kissed her.
Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh with which she had sent her, and all the signs with which she had charged her.
Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel.
Aaron spoke all the words which Yahweh had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
The people believed, and when they heard that Yahweh had visited the children of Israel, and that she had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.