Exodus 4:1–9

Proof for Moses

4Then Moses answered, “What if the people of Israel do not believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

²The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

Moses answered, “It is my walking stick.”

³The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran from the snake, ⁴but the Lord said to him, “Reach out and grab the snake by its tail.” When Moses reached out and took hold of the snake, it again became a stick in his hand. ⁵The Lord said, “This is so that the Israelites will believe that the Lord appeared to you. I am the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your coat.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took it out, it was white with a skin disease.

⁷Then he said, “Now put your hand inside your coat again.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat again. When he took it out, his hand was healthy again, like the rest of his skin.

⁸Then the Lord said, “If the people do not believe you or pay attention to the first miracle, they may believe you when you show them this second miracle. ⁹After these two miracles, if they still do not believe or listen to you, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the dry ground. The water will become blood when it touches the ground.”