1 Then Moses answered and said, 'What if they do not believe me or listen to me, but say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you’?

And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

2 The LORD said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' Moses replied, 'A staff.'

And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

3 Then He said, 'Throw it to the ground.' So Moses threw it to the ground, and it became a serpent, and he ran away from it.

And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand and grasp its tail.' So Moses stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff again in his hand.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

5 'This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.'

That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

6 Furthermore, the LORD said to him, 'Put your hand into your cloak.' So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, like snow.

And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

7 'Now put your hand back into your cloak,' the LORD said. So he put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored to be like the rest of his body.

And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

8 'If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second.'

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

9 'But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, then take some water from the Nile, pour it on the dry ground, and the water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.'

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

10 Moses said to the LORD, 'Pardon me, Lord, but I am not eloquent—neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.'

And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

11 The LORD said to him, 'Who gave human beings their mouths? Or who makes them mute, deaf, seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'

Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

13 But Moses said, 'Pardon me, Lord. Please send someone else.'

And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

14 Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses, and He said, 'What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. Even now he is on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you.'

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you both what to do.

And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

16 He will speak for you to the people, and he will serve as your mouth, and you will serve as God to him.

And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

17 And take this staff in your hand, for with it you shall perform the signs.

And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

18 Then Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, 'Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt to see if they are still alive.' And Jethro said to Moses, 'Go in peace.'

And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19 Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, 'Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are now dead.'

And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

20 So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

21 The LORD said to Moses, 'When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.'

And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son,

And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

23 and I told you to let my son go so he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. So I will kill your firstborn son.'

And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

24 At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and sought to kill him.

And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' feet with it. She said, 'Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.'

Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

26 So the LORD let him alone. At that time, she said 'bridegroom of blood,' referring to circumcision.

So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, 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.

And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had said to him and all the signs He had commanded him to perform.

And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

29 Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the Israelites.

And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:

30 Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and he performed the signs in the sight of the people.

And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

31 The people believed, and when they heard that the LORD had taken notice of the Israelites and had seen their suffering, they bowed down and worshiped.

And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.