New International Version NIV
American Standard Version ASV
1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”
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And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, Jehovah hath not appeared unto thee.
2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
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And Jehovah said unto him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod.
3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
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And he said, Cast in 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 him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
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And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail: (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand:)
5 “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may 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.”
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That they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
6 Then the LORD said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous —it had become as white as snow.
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And Jehovah said furthermore unto him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as [white as] snow.
7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
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And he said, Put thy hand into thy bosom again. (And he put his hand into his bosom again; and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his [other] flesh.)
8 Then the LORD said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second.
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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 these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”
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And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe even 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 your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
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And Moses said unto Jehovah, Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
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And Jehovah said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh [a man] dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, Jehovah?
12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
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Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt speak.
13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
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And he said, Oh, 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. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you.
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And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite? 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 words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.
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And thou shalt speak unto him, and put the 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 to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.
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And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God.
17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”
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And thou shalt take in thy hand this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.” Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”
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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 that are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.
19 Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.”
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And Jehovah said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt; for all the men are dead that sought thy life.
20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
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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 I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
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And Jehovah said unto Moses, When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand: but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.
22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son,
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And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, Israel is my son, my first-born:
23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
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and I have said unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and thou hast refused to let him go: behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born.
24 At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him.
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And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that Jehovah 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. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said.
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Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, Surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me.
26 So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)
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So he let him alone. Then she said, A bridegroom of blood [art thou], because of the circumcision.
27 The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him.
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And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.
28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.
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And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah wherewith he had sent him, and all the signs wherewith he had charged him.
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites,
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And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:
30 and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people,
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and Aaron spake all the words which Jehovah had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
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And the people believed: and when they heard that Jehovah had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.