God Gives Moses Signs

¹Moses answered, "But look, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, because they will say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.'" ²The LORD asked him, "What's that in your hand?" Moses said, "A rod." ³"Throw it on the ground," God said. So Moses threw it down, and it turned into a snake. Moses ran from it. ⁴Then the LORD told Moses, "Reach out and grab it by the tail." Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it became a rod again in his hand. ⁵This is so they'll 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. ⁶Then the LORD said, "Now put your hand inside your cloak." Moses slipped his hand inside his cloak, and when he pulled it out, his hand was covered with leprosy, white as snow. ⁷And he said, "Put your hand inside your garment again." And he put his hand inside his garment again, and pulled it out of his garment, and look, it was again like his other flesh. ⁸If they do not believe you or listen to the voice of the first sign, they will believe the voice of the second sign. ⁹But if they still don't believe even after both signs and won't listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you pour out will turn to blood right there on the ground." ¹⁰And Moses said to the LORD, "O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and have a slow tongue." ¹¹The LORD replied, "Who made the human mouth? Who makes a person mute or deaf, able to see or blind? Isn't it I, the LORD? ¹²Now go. I will be with you when you speak, and I will teach you what to say." ¹³But Moses said, "O my LORD, please send someone you choose." ¹⁴At that, the LORD's anger burned against Moses. He said, "What about your brother Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. In fact, he's already on his way to meet you, and he'll be overjoyed when he sees you. ¹⁵You will speak to him and put words in his mouth. I will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you both what to do. ¹⁶He will be your spokesman to the people. He'll serve as your mouth, and you will be like God to him. ¹⁷Take this rod with you — you'll use it to perform the signs."