Exodus 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
1 “But,” objected Moses, “suppose they do not believe me or listen to me? For they may say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him: What is in your hand? “A staff,” he answered. 3 God said: Throw it on the ground. So he threw it on the ground and it became a snake,(A) and Moses backed away from it. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses: Now stretch out your hand and take hold of its tail. So he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand. 5 That is so they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did appear to you.
6 Again the Lord said to him: Put your hand into the fold of your garment. So he put his hand into the fold of his garment, and when he drew it out, there was his hand covered with scales, like snowflakes. 7 Then God said: Put your hand back into the fold of your garment. So he put his hand back into the fold of his garment, and when he drew it out, there it was again like his own flesh. 8 If they do not believe you or pay attention to the message of the first sign, they should believe the message of the second sign. 9 And if they do not believe even these two signs and do not listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land.(B)
Aaron’s Office as Assistant. 10 Moses, however, said to the Lord, “If you please, my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue.”(C) 11 The Lord said to him: Who gives one person speech? Who makes another mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go, I will assist you in speaking[a] and teach you what you are to say. 13 But he said, “If you please, my Lord, send someone else!”[b] 14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses and said: I know there is your brother, Aaron the Levite, who is a good speaker; even now he is on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will truly be glad. 15 You will speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will assist both you and him in speaking and teach you both what you are to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you: he will be your spokesman,[c] and you will be as God to him.(D) 17 Take this staff[d] in your hand; with it you are to perform the signs.
Moses’ Return to Egypt. 18 After this Moses returned to Jethro[e] his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my kindred in Egypt, to see whether they are still living.” Jethro replied to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 Then the Lord said to Moses in Midian: Return to Egypt, for all those who sought your life are dead. 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons, mounted them on the donkey, and started back to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God with him. 21 The Lord said to Moses: On your return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart[f] and he will not let the people go. 22 (E)So you will say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn. 23 I said to you: Let my son go, that he may serve me. Since you refused to let him go, I will kill your son, your firstborn.(F)
24 [g]On the journey, at a place where they spent the night, the Lord came upon Moses and sought to put him to death. 25 (G)But Zipporah took a piece of flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and, touching his feet,[h] she said, “Surely you are a spouse of blood to me.” 26 So God let Moses alone. At that time she said, “A spouse of blood,” in regard to the circumcision.
27 The Lord said to Aaron: Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went; when meeting him at the mountain of God, he kissed him. 28 Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and all the signs he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the Israelites. 30 Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses, and he performed the signs before the people. 31 The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had observed the Israelites and had seen their affliction,[i] they knelt and bowed down.
Footnotes
- 4:12 Assist you in speaking: lit., “be with your mouth”; cf. v. 15, lit., “be with your mouth and with his mouth.”
- 4:13 Send someone else: lit., “send by means of him whom you will send,” that is, “send whom you will.”
- 4:16 Spokesman: lit., “mouth”; Aaron was to serve as a mouthpiece for Moses, as a prophet does for God; hence the relation between Moses and Aaron is compared to that between God and his prophet: Moses “will be as God to,” i.e., lit., “will become God for him.” Cf. 7:1.
- 4:17 This staff: probably the same as that of vv. 2–4; but some understand that a new staff is now given by God to Moses.
- 4:18 Jethro: the Hebrew text has “Jether,” apparently a variant form of “Jethro” found in the same verse. To see whether they are still living: Moses did not tell his father-in-law his main reason for returning to Egypt.
- 4:21 Harden his heart: in the biblical view, the heart, whose actual function in the circulation of blood was unknown, typically performs functions associated today more with the brain than with the emotions. Therefore, while it may be used in connection with various emotional states ranging from joy to sadness, it very commonly designates the seat of intellectual and volitional activities. For God to harden Pharaoh’s heart is to harden his resolve against the Israelites’ desire to leave. In the ancient world, actions which are out of character are routinely attributed not to the person but to some “outside” superhuman power acting upon the person (Jgs 14:16; 1 Sm 16:10). Uncharacteristically negative actions or states are explained in the same way (1 Sm 16:14). In this instance, the opposition of Pharaoh, in the face of God’s displays of power, would be unintelligible to the ancient Israelites unless he is seen as under some divine constraint. But this does not diminish Pharaoh’s own responsibility. In the anthropology of the ancient Israelites there is no opposition between individual responsibility and God’s sovereignty over all of creation. Cf. Rom 9:17–18.
- 4:24–26 This story continues to perplex commentators and may have circulated in various forms before finding its place here in Exodus. Particularly troublesome is the unique phrase “spouse of blood.” Nevertheless, v. 26, which apparently comes from the hand of a later commentator on the original story, is intended to offer some clarification. It asserts that when Zipporah used the problematic expression (addressing it either to Moses or her son), she did so with reference to the circumcision performed on her son—the only place in the Bible where this rite is performed by a woman. Whatever the precise meaning of the phrase “spouse of blood,” circumcision is the key to understanding it as well as the entire incident. One may conclude, therefore, that God was angry with Moses for having failed to keep the divine command given to Abraham in Gn 17:10–12 and circumcise his son. Moses’ life is spared when his wife circumcises their son.
- 4:25 Touching his feet: a euphemism most probably for the male sexual organ (see 2 Kgs 18:27; Is 7:20); whether the genitals of the child (after Zipporah circumcised him) or of Moses (after the circumcision of his son) is not clear.
- 4:31 Observed…their affliction: the same phrases used in God’s dialogue with Moses in 3:16–17.
出埃及记 4
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
神賜摩西的印證
4 摩西回答：“看哪，他們必不信我，也不聽我的話；因為他們必說：‘耶和華並沒有向你顯現。’” 2 耶和華問摩西：“那在你手裡的是甚麼？”他說：“是手杖。” 3 耶和華說：“把它丟在地上。”摩西把它一丟在地上，它就變了蛇；摩西就逃跑，離開了牠。 4 耶和華對摩西說：“伸出你的手來，捉住蛇的尾巴。”摩西就伸出手來，緊握著牠，牠在摩西的掌中又變回了手杖。 5 “這樣就使他們相信耶和華他們祖宗的 神，就是亞伯拉罕的 神、以撒的 神、雅各的 神曾向你顯現了。” 6 耶和華又再對摩西說：“現在把你的手放進懷裡。”摩西就把手放進懷裡；等他把手抽出來的時候，手就長滿了痲風，像雪那樣白。 7 耶和華說：“把你的手再放進懷裡。”摩西就把手再放進懷裡；等他把手從懷裡抽出來的時候，手就恢復過來，像身上別處的肉一樣。 8 耶和華又說：“如果他們不信你，也不聽從頭一個神蹟的話，他們必信隨後來的神蹟。 9 如果連這兩個神蹟他們也不信，也不聽你的話，你就從河裡取些水，倒在旱地上；你從河裡取來的水就必在旱地上變成血。”
亞倫作摩西的代言人
10 摩西對耶和華說：“主啊，我不是個會說話的人；以前不是，自從你對僕人說話以後也不是；因為我本是拙口笨舌的。” 11 耶和華對他說：“誰造人的口呢？誰使人口啞、耳聾、眼明、眼瞎呢？不是我耶和華嗎？ 12 現在去吧，我必賜你口才，指教你當說的。” 13 摩西說：“主啊，請你差派你願意差派的人。” 14 耶和華向摩西發怒，說：“不是有你的哥哥利未人亞倫嗎？我知道他是有口才的；他現在出來要迎接你。他看見了你，心裡就快樂。 15 你要對他說話，把你要說的話放在他的口裡；我必與你的口同在，也與他的口同在；我必指教你們當行的事。 16 他要替你向人民說話，他要作你的口，你要作他的 神。 17 這手杖你要拿在手裡，用來行神蹟。”
摩西返回埃及
18 於是，摩西起程回到他岳父葉忒羅那裡，對他說：“請你容我離開這裡，回到我在埃及的同胞那裡，看看他們是否還在。”葉忒羅對摩西說：“你可以平平安安地去吧。” 19 耶和華在米甸對摩西說：“你要起程，回到埃及去，因為那些尋索你命的人都死了。” 20 摩西就帶著他的妻子和孩子，讓他們騎在驢上，向著埃及地回去了；摩西手裡拿著 神的杖。 21 耶和華對摩西說：“你起程回到埃及去的時候，要留意我交在你手裡的一切奇事，把它們行在法老面前；我卻要使他的心剛硬，他就不讓人民離開。 22 你要對法老說：‘耶和華這樣說：以色列是我的長子。 23 我曾對你說，要讓我的兒子離開這裡，好叫他事奉我。你還是拒絕讓他離開，看哪！我必殺你的長子。’”
24 在路上住宿的地方，耶和華遇見了摩西，就想要殺他。 25 西坡拉就拿了一把石刀，把她兒子的包皮割下來，把它丟到摩西的腳上，說：“你真是我的血郎了！” 26 這樣，耶和華才放了他。那時西坡拉說：“你是血郎，是因為割禮的緣故。”
27 耶和華對亞倫說：“你到曠野去迎接摩西。”他就去了；他在 神的山遇見了摩西，就和他親吻。 28 摩西把耶和華派他所說的一切話，和吩咐他所行的一切神蹟都告訴了亞倫。 29 摩西和亞倫就去召集以色列人的眾長老。 30 亞倫把耶和華對摩西所說的一切話都說了一遍，並且在人民的眼前行了這些神蹟。 31 人民就相信了；他們聽見耶和華眷顧以色列人，也鑒察了他們的痛苦，就俯伏敬拜。
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
