Miraculous Signs for Pharaoh
1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘TheLordhas not appeared to you.’ ”
2 So theLordsaid to him, “Whatisthat in your hand?”
He said, “A rod.”
3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
4 Then theLordsaid to Moses, “Reach out your hand and takeitby the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand),
5 “that they maybelieve that theLordGod of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 Furthermore theLordsaid to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his handwasleprous,like snow.
7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold,it was restored like hisotherflesh.
8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of thefirst sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.
9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pouriton the dryland.The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dryland.”
10 Then Moses said to theLord, “O my Lord, Iamnot eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; butIamslow of speech and slow of tongue.”
11 So theLordsaid to him,“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind?Havenot I, theLord?
12 Now therefore, go, and I will bewith your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
13 But he said, “O my Lord,please send by the hand of whomeverelseYou may send.”
14 Sothe anger of theLordwas kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite yourbrother? I know that he can speak well. And look,he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
15 Nowyou shall speak to him andput the words in his mouth. AndI will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do.
16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, andyou shall be to him as God.
17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”
Moses Goes to Egypt
18 So Moses went and returned toJethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren whoarein Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.”
# And Jethro said to Moses,“Go in peace.”
19 Now theLordsaid to Moses inMidian, “Go, return toEgypt; for all the men whosought your life are dead.”
20 Then Mosestook his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses tookthe rod of God in his hand.
21 And theLordsaid to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all thosewonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. ButI will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.
22 Then you shallsay to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says theLord:“IsraelisMy son,My firstborn.
23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeedI will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”
24 And it came to pass on the way, at theencampment, that theLordmet him and sought tokill him.
25 ThenZipporah tooka sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and castitatMoses’feet, and said, “Surely youarea husband of blood to me!”
26 So He let him go. Then she said, “Youarea husband of blood!”—because of the circumcision.
27 And theLordsaid to Aaron, “Go into the wildernessto meet Moses.” So he went and met himon the mountain of God, and kissed him.
28 So Mosestold Aaron all the words of theLordwho had sent him, and all thesigns which He had commanded him.
29 Then Moses and Aaronwent and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel.
30 And Aaron spoke all the words which theLordhad spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people.
31 So the peoplebelieved; and when they heard that theLordhadvisited the children of Israel and that Hehad looked on their affliction, thenthey bowed their heads and worshiped.