| Berean Study Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ” | 1Then Moses answered, "What if they won't believe me and will not obey me but say, 'The LORD did not appear to you?" |
| 2And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. | 2The LORD asked him, "What is that in your hand?"" A staff," he replied. |
| 3“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. | 3Then He said, "Throw it on the ground." He threw it on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran from it, |
| 4“Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. | 4but the LORD told him, "Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail." So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. " |
| 5“This 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.” | 5This will take place," He continued, "so they will believe that Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." |
| 6Furthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow. | 6In addition the LORD said to him, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, white as snow. |
| 7“Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the LORD. So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his skin. | 7Then He said, "Put your hand back inside your cloak." He put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it had again become like the rest of his skin." |
| 8And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second. | 8If they will not believe you and will not respond to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the second sign. |
| 9But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.” | 9And if they don't believe even these two signs or listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground." |
| 10“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.” | 10But Moses replied to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent--either in the past or recently or since You have been speaking to Your servant--because I am slow and hesitant in speech." |
| 11And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? | 11Yahweh said to him, "Who made the human mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? |
| 12Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.” | 12Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say." |
| 13But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” | 13Moses said, "Please, Lord, send someone else." |
| 14Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. | 14Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses, and He said, "Isn't Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you. |
| 15You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do. | 15You will speak with him and tell him what to say. I will help both you and him to speak and will teach you both what to do. |
| 16He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him. | 16He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and you will serve as God to him. |
| 17But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.” | 17And take this staff in your hand that you will perform the signs with." |
| 18Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied. | 18Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, "Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still living." Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace." |
| 19Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.” | 19Now in Midian the LORD told Moses, "Return to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." |
| 20So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand. | 20So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took God's staff in his hand. |
| 21The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. | 21The LORD instructed Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he won't let the people go. |
| 22Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son, | 22Then you will say to Pharaoh: This is what Yahweh says: Israel is My firstborn son. |
| 23and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’ ” | 23I told you: Let My son go so that he may worship Me, but you refused to let him go. Now I will kill your firstborn son!" |
| 24Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him. | 24On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the LORD confronted him and sought to put him to death. |
| 25But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. | 25So Zipporah took a flint, cut off her son's foreskin, and threw it at Moses' feet. Then she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood to me!" |
| 26So the LORD let him alone. (When she said, “bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.) | 26So He let him alone. At that time she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood," referring to the circumcision. |
| 27Meanwhile, the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. | 27Now the LORD had said to Aaron, "Go and meet Moses in the wilderness." So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. |
| 28And Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and all the signs He had commanded him to perform. | 28Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and about all the signs He had commanded him to do. |
| 29Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites, | 29Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. |
| 30and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses. And Moses performed the signs before the people, | 30Aaron repeated everything the LORD had said to Moses and performed the signs before the people. |
| 31and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped. | 31The people believed, and when they heard that the LORD had paid attention to them and that He had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. |
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