Parallel Bible results for "exodus 4"

Exodus 4

New Living Translation NLT

1 But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The LORD never appeared to you’?”

2 Then the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the LORD told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

4 Then the LORD told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.

5 “Perform this sign,” the LORD told him. “Then they will believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—really has appeared to you.”

6 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin disease.

7 “Now put your hand back into your cloak,” the LORD said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.

8 The LORD said to Moses, “If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign.

9 And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.”

10 But Moses pleaded with the LORD, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

11 Then the LORD asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD ?

12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

13 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”

14 Then the LORD became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you.

15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do.

16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.

17 And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”

18 So Moses went back home to Jethro, his father-in-law. “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt,” Moses said. “I don’t even know if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.

19 Before Moses left Midian, the LORD said to him, “Return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you have died.”

20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God.

21 And the LORD told Moses, “When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go.

22 Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son.

23 I commanded you, “Let my son go, so he can worship me.” But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!’”

24 On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the LORD confronted him and was about to kill him.

25 But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet with the foreskin and said, “Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me.”

26 (When she said “a bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the LORD left him alone.

27 Now the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go out into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God, and he embraced him.

28 Moses then told Aaron everything the LORD had commanded him to say. And he told him about the miraculous signs the LORD had commanded him to perform.

29 Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of Israel together.

30 Aaron told them everything the LORD had told Moses, and Moses performed the miraculous signs as they watched.

31 Then the people of Israel were convinced that the LORD had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

Common English Bible CEB

1 Then Moses replied, "But what if they don't believe me or pay attention to me? They might say to me, ‘The LORD didn't appear to you!'"

2 The LORD said to him, "What's that in your hand?" Moses replied, "A shepherd's rod."

3 The LORD said, "Throw it down on the ground." So Moses threw it on the ground, and it turned into a snake. Moses jumped back from it.

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out and grab the snake by the tail." So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a rod in his hand.

5 "Do this so that they will believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors, Abraham's God, Isaac's God, and Jacob's God has in fact appeared to you."

6 Again, the LORD said to Moses, "Put your hand inside your coat." So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took his hand out, his hand had a skin disease flaky like snow.

7 Then God said, "Put your hand back inside your coat." So Moses put his hand back inside his coat. When he took it back out again, the skin of his hand had returned to normal.

8 "If they won't believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second sign.

9 If they won't believe even these two signs or pay attention to you, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on dry ground. The water that you take from the Nile will turn into blood on the dry ground."

10 But Moses said to the LORD, "My Lord, I've never been able to speak well, not yesterday, not the day before, and certainly not now since you've been talking to your servant. I have a slow mouth and a thick tongue."

11 Then the LORD said to him, "Who gives people the ability to speak? Who's responsible for making them unable to speak or hard of hearing, sighted or blind? Isn't it I, the LORD?

12 Now go! I'll help you speak, and I'll teach you what you should say."

13 But Moses said, "Please, my Lord, just send someone else."

14 Then the LORD got angry at Moses and said, "What about your brother Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak very well. He's on his way out to meet you now, and he's looking forward to seeing you.

15 Speak to him and tell him what he's supposed to say. I'll help both of you speak, and I'll teach both of you what to do.

16 Aaron will speak for you to the people. He'll be a spokesperson for you, and you will be like God for him.

17 Take this shepherd's rod with you too so that you can do the signs."

18 Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, "Please let me go back to my family in Egypt and see whether or not they are still living." Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."

19 The LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt because everyone there who wanted to kill you has died."

20 So Moses took his wife and his children, put them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. Moses also carried the shepherd's rod from God in his hand.

21 The LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, make sure that you appear before Pharaoh and do all the amazing acts that I've given you the power to do. But I'll make him stubborn so that he won't let the people go.

22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my oldest son.

23 I said to you, 'Let my son go so he could worship me.' But you refused to let him go. As a result, now I'm going to kill your oldest son.'"

24 During their journey, as they camped overnight, the LORD met Moses and tried to kill him.

25 But Zipporah took a sharp-edged flint stone and cut off her son's foreskin. Then she touched Moses' genitals with it, and she said, "You are my bridegroom because of bloodshed."

26 So the LORD let him alone. At that time, she announced, "A bridegroom because of bloodshed by circumcision."

27 The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet Moses." So he went, and Aaron met him at God's mountain and greeted him with a kiss.

28 Moses told Aaron what the LORD had said about his mission and all the signs that the LORD had told him to do.

29 Then Moses and Aaron called together all the Israelite elders.

30 Aaron told them everything that the LORD had told to Moses, and he performed the signs in front of the people.

31 The people believed. When they heard that the LORD had paid attention to the Israelites and had seen their oppression, they bowed down and worshipped.