^4:1¹ Moses answered again,² “And if³ they do not believe me or pay attention to me,⁴ but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?” ^4:2The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”⁵^4:3The Lord⁶ said, “Throw it to the ground.” So he threw it to the ground, and it became a snake,⁷ and Moses ran from it. ^4:4But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grab it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand⁸—^4:5“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.”

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Footnotes

1 In chap. 3, the first part of this extensive call, Yahweh promises to deliver his people. At the hesitancy of Moses, God guarantees his presence will be with him, and that assures the success of the mission. But with chap. 4, the second half of the call, the tone changes sharply. Now Moses protests his inadequacies in view of the nature of the task. In many ways, these verses address the question, “Who is sufficient for these things?” There are three basic movements in the passage. The first nine verses tell how God gave Moses signs in case Israel did not believe him (4:1–9). The second section records how God dealt with the speech problem of Moses (4:10–12). And finally, the last section records God’s provision of a helper, someone who could talk well (4:13–17). See also J. E. Hamlin, “The Liberator’s Ordeal: A Study of Exodus 4:1–9,” Rhetorical Criticism [], 33–42.
2 Heb “and Moses answered and said.”
3 Or “What if.” The use of הֵן (hen) is unusual here, introducing a conditional idea in the question without a following consequence clause (see Exod 8:22 [8:26 ]; Jer 2:10; 2 Chr 7:13). The Greek has “if not” but adds the clause “what shall I say to them?”
4 Heb “listen to my voice,” so as to respond positively.
5 Or “rod” (, ); , “walking stick”; “shepherd’s staff.” The staff appears here to be the shepherd’s staff that he was holding. It now will become the instrument with which Moses will do the mighty works, for it is the medium of the display of the divine power (S. R. Driver, Exodus, ; also, L. Shalit, “How Moses Turned a Staff into a Snake and Back Again,” 9 [1983]: 72–73).
6 Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 The details of the verse are designed to show that there was a staff that became a snake. The question is used to affirm that there truly was a staff, and then the report of Moses running from it shows it was a genuine snake. Using the serpent as a sign would have had an impact on the religious ideas of Egypt, for the sacred cobra was one of their symbols.
8 The signs authenticated Moses’ ministry as the Lord’s emissary. This sign will show that the Lord had control over Egypt and its stability, over life and death. But first Moses has to be convinced that he can turn it into a dead stick again.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— “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.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,” he replied.

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

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then 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. “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.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

The Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,” he replied.

“Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it. The Lord told Moses, “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. “This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

NLTNew Living Translation

But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”

Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

“Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.

“Perform this sign,” the Lord told him. “Then they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—really has appeared to you.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And Moses answered, and he said, “And if they do not believe me and they do not listen to my voice, but they say, ‘Yahweh did not appear to you?’ ” And Yahweh said to him, “What is this in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it onto the ground.” And he threw it onto the ground, and it became a snake, and Moses fled from it. And Yahweh said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—” (And he reached out his hand and grabbed it, and it became a staff in his palm.)—“so that they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, appeared to you, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

KJV 1900King James Version

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

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