Exodus 3:13–4:12
13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
14 God said to Moses, “1aI AM WHO 1I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘1I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘aThe Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My bmemorial-name 1to all generations.
16 “Go and agather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘bThe Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “1cI am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.
17 “So aI said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of bthe Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land cflowing with milk and honey.” ’
18 “aThey will 1pay heed to what you say; and byou with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a cthree days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’
19 “But I know that the king of Egypt awill not permit you to go, bexcept 1under compulsion.
20 “So I will stretch out aMy hand and strike Egypt with all My bmiracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and cafter that he will let you go.
21 “I will grant this people afavor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.
22 “But every woman ashall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will bplunder the Egyptians.”
1 Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or alisten 1to what I say? For they may say, ‘bThe Lord has not appeared to you.’ ”
2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “aA staff.”
3 Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and ait became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his 1hand—
5 “that athey may believe that bthe Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 The Lord furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was aleprous like snow.
7 Then He said, “Put your hand into your bosom again.” So he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, ait was restored like the rest of his flesh.
8 “If they will not believe you or 1heed the 2witness of the first sign, they may believe the 2witness of the last sign.
9 “But if they will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile awill become blood on the dry ground.”
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, aI have never been 1eloquent, neither 2recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am 3slow of speech and 3slow of tongue.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or awho makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
12 “Now then go, and aI, even I, will be with your mouth, and bteach you what you are to say.”