Study Desk

Then He said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it turned into a serpent; and Moses fled from it.

But the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out with your hand and grasp it by its tail"—so he reached out with his hand and caught it, and it turned into a staff in his hand—

"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."

The LORD furthermore said to him, "Now put your hand inside the fold of your robe." So he put his hand inside the fold, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow.

Then He said, "Put your hand inside the fold of your robe again." So he put his hand into the fold again, and when he took it out of the fold, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.

"So if they will not believe you nor pay attention to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the last sign.

"So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do.

So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

"So I said to you, 'Let My son go so that he may serve Me'; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I am going to kill your son, your firstborn."'"

So Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at Moses' feet; and she said, "You are indeed a groom of blood to me!"

So He left him alone. At that time she said, "You are a groom of blood"—because of the circumcision.

Now the LORD said to Aaron, "Go to meet Moses in the wilderness." So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.

So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, they bowed low and worshiped.

And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: '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 a three days' journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword."

So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying,

"Let the labor be heavier on the men, and have them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words."

So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I am not going to give you any straw.

So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.