You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
11 And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”
13 But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
14 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”
Moses Leaves for Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro [1] and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.”
“Go in peace,” Jethro replied.
19 Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
21 The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden [2] his heart so that he will not let the people go.
22 Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son, 23 and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”
24 Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses[3] and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet.[4] “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said.
26 So the LORD let him alone. (When she said, “bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.)
The People Believe Moses and Aaron
27 Meanwhile, the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and all the signs He had commanded him to perform.
29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses.
And Moses performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.
Pharaoh’s First Refusal
5 After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”
2 But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do
