Study Desk

"So I will reach out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.

Then He said, "Throw it on the ground." So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a [living] serpent [like the royal symbol on the crown of Pharaoh]; and Moses ran from it.

But the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and grasp it by the tail." So he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—

["You shall do this," said the LORD,] "so that the elders may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has [most certainly] appeared to you."

The LORD also said to him, "Put your hand into your robe [where it covers your chest]." So he put his hand into his robe, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.

Then God said, "Put your hand into your robe again." So he put his hand back into his robe, and when he took it out, it was restored [and was] like the rest of his body.

Then Moses went away and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, "Please, let me go back so that I may return to my relatives in Egypt, and see if they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."

So Moses took his wife [Zipporah] and his sons [Gershom and Eliezer] and seated them on donkeys, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders (miracles) which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and make him stubborn so that he will not let the people go.

"So I say to you, 'Let My son go so that he may serve Me'; and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn."'"

So He let Moses alone [to recover]. At that time Zipporah said, "You are a husband of blood"—because of the circumcision.

The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went and met him at the mountain of God (Sinai) and kissed him.

So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the Israelites and that He had looked [with compassion] on their suffering, then they bowed their heads and worshiped [the LORD].

Afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Let My people go, so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.'"

Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go on a three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God, so that He does not discipline us with pestilence or with the sword."

"Let labor be heavier on the men, and let them work [hard] at it so that they will pay no attention to [their God's] lying words."

So the people were scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.

But Moses said to the LORD, "Look, [my own people] the Israelites have not listened to me; so how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled and inept in speech?"

And Moses and Aaron did so; just as the LORD commanded them, so they did.

"When Pharaoh says to you, 'Work a miracle [to prove your authority],' then you say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may become a serpent.'"