Exodus 4

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.

Moses responded with worry, "But they won't trust me or listen to my words. They'll just say, 'God hasn't really appeared to you.'"

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

The Lord asked him curiously, "What are you holding?" He replied simply, "A staff."

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.

He commanded, "Drop it!" Moses did, and it transformed into a snake. Terrified, Moses ran away.

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:

The LORD gently instructed Moses, "Reach out and grasp it by the tail." With a leap of faith, Moses extended his hand, seized it, and it miraculously transformed into a staff in his grip.

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.

So they may trust that the same God who guided their ancestors - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - has shown Himself to you.

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.

Then the Lord gently instructed him, "Place your hand inside your shirt." He did as told. When he pulled his hand out, it was shockingly white, diseased like snow.

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.

He said, "Place your hand back into your chest." So he did, and when he pulled it out, it was restored, just like the rest of his skin.

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.

If they don't trust you or pay attention to the first warning, they'll surely believe when the final sign comes.

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.

If they still don't trust these two signs or listen to you, then take some river water and pour it on the dry land. The water you took from the river will turn into blood on the land.

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.

Moses pleaded with the LORD, "Oh LORD, I'm not a good speaker, I never have been, and I'm not even after you've spoken to me. I stumble over my words and my tongue is slow."

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?

The Lord asked, "Who do you think gave people their mouths? Who makes someone mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Wasn't it I, the Lord?"

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

Go forth now, and trust that I will guide your words and show you what to express.

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

He pleaded, "Dear Lord, please, send someone else to deliver your message."

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.

God's anger burned against Moses, and He asked, "Isn't Aaron, your brother, a good speaker? He's on his way to see you and he'll be overjoyed when he does."

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.

Speak to him, let your words flow into his heart. Don't worry, I'll guide your speech and his, teaching you both what to do.

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.

He will speak for you to the people, becoming your voice. You, in turn, will guide him as if you were God.

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

Grasp this staff tightly in your hand, for with it, you will perform miracles.

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.

Moses, filled with longing, approached his father-in-law Jethro and pleaded, "Please, let me return to my brothers in Egypt. I need to know if they're still alive." Jethro, understanding his turmoil, simply replied, "Go, Moses. Go with my blessing."

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

In Midian, the LORD gently told Moses, "Go back to Egypt, Moses. Those who wanted to harm you are no longer alive."

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.

Moses set his wife and sons on a humble donkey and headed back to Egypt. Clutched in his hand was the divine staff, a symbol of God's power.

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.

The Lord told Moses, "As you head back to Egypt, remember to perform all the miracles I've given you the power to do in front of Pharaoh. But be prepared, I will make his heart stubborn, so that he will not let the people go."

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

You shall tell Pharaoh, with the authority of the Lord, "Israel is my cherished child, my very first."

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.

I urge you, release my son so he can worship me. If you refuse to let him go, be warned: I will kill your son, your firstborn.

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

In a humble inn along the journey, God unexpectedly crossed paths with him, filled with a chilling intent to end his life.

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.

In a moment of intense emotion, Zipporah swiftly used a sharp stone to circumcise her son. She then threw the foreskin at her husband's feet and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me."

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

He released him, and she cried out, "You are a husband stained with blood, all because of the circumcision."

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.

With a divine command, the LORD urged Aaron, "Find Moses in the wilderness." So, he journeyed, finally reuniting with his brother on God's sacred mountain, greeting him with a heartfelt kiss.

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

Moses passionately relayed to Aaron every divine message and miraculous sign that the LORD had entrusted him with.

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

Moses and Aaron united all the senior members of the Israelite community.

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

Aaron passionately relayed every message that the LORD had given to Moses, and performed the miraculous signs before the people's very eyes.

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.

The people felt a surge of faith when they learned that God had turned his attention to the suffering of the Israelites. Overwhelmed with gratitude, they humbly bowed their heads in worship.