Chapter 4
1
And Moses answered and said, "But suppose they do not believe me and do not listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.'"
2
And the LORD said to him, "What is this in your hand?" And he said, "A staff."
3
And he said, "Throw it to the earth." And he threw it to the earth, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from its face.
4
And the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and grasp it by the tail." He reached out his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand.
5
so that they believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.
6
And the LORD said to him again, "Put your hand into your bosom." He put his hand into his bosom, and when he brought it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow.
7
And he said, "Put your hand back into your bosom." He put his hand back into his bosom, and when it came out from his bosom, behold, it had returned like his other flesh.
8
And it will be, if they do not believe you and do not listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
9
And it will be that if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land.
10
Moses said to the LORD, "On that day, my Lord, I am not a man of words, even from yesterday, even from the day before yesterday, even from then when you spoke to your servant, for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue."
11
The LORD said to him, "Who puts a mouth in humanity? Or who makes mute or deaf or open-eyed or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?"
12
Now go, and I will be with your mouth and I will instruct you what you will speak.
13
He said, "Please, Lord, send by the hand of whom you will send."
14
The anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and he said, "Is not Aaron your brother the Levite? I know that he speaks well, and also behold—he has gone out to meet you, and he will see you and rejoice in his heart."
15
You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct you what you shall do.
16
He will speak for you to the people, and he will be a mouth for you, and you will be to him as God.
17
You shall take this staff in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.