| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1And 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. | 1Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" |
| 2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. | 2Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. |
| 3And 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. | 3The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. |
| 4And 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: | 4Then 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. |
| 5That 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. | 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." |
| 6And 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. | 6Then 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. |
| 7And 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. | 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. |
| 8And 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. | 8Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. |
| 9And 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. | 9But 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." |
| 10And 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. | 10Moses 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." |
| 11And 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? | 11The 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? |
| 12Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. | 12Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." |
| 13And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. | 13But Moses said, "Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else." |
| 14And 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. | 14Then 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. |
| 15And 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. | 15You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. |
| 16And 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. | 16He 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. |
| 17And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs. | 17But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it." |
| 18And 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. | 18Then 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." |
| 19And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. | 19Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead." |
| 20And 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. | 20So 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. |
| 21And 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. | 21The 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. |
| 22And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: | 22Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, |
| 23And 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. | 23and 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.'" |
| 24And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. | 24At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him. |
| 25Then 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. | 25But 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. |
| 26So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. | 26So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said "bridegroom of blood," referring to circumcision.) |
| 27And 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. | 27The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. |
| 28And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. | 28Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform. |
| 29And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: | 29Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, |
| 30And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. | 30and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, |
| 31And 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. | 31and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. |
|
