¹ Siis Issand ütles Moosesele: 'Mine vaarao juurde, sest ma olen teinud kõvaks tema südame ja ta sulaste südamed, et teha tema juures oma imetegusid,

² ja selleks, et sa saaksid jutustada oma poja ja pojapoja kuuldes, kuidas ma olen näidanud egiptlastele oma jõudu, ja mu imetegudest, mis ma neile olen teinud, et te teaksite, et mina olen Issand!'

³ Siis Mooses ja Aaron läksid vaarao juurde ning ütlesid temale: 'Nõnda ütleb Issand, heebrealaste Jumal: Kui kaua sa tõrgud alistumast mu ees? Lase mu rahvas minna ja mind teenida!

⁴ Sest kui sa keelad mu rahvast minemast, vaata, siis ma toon homme su maale rohutirtsud.

⁵ Need katavad maapinna, nõnda et maad pole näha, ja nad söövad jäänused säilinust, mis teile rahest üle jäi, ja nad söövad ära kõik puud, mis teil väljal kasvavad.

⁶ Ja nad täidavad su kojad ja kõik su sulaste kojad ja kõik egiptlaste kojad, mida ei ole näinud su isad ja su isade isad oma maa peale tuleku päevast tänini.' Ja ta pöördus ümber ning läks ära vaarao juurest.

⁷ Siis vaarao sulased ütlesid temale: 'Kui kaua on see meile püüniseks? Lase mehed minna, et nad teeniksid Issandat, oma Jumalat! Kas sa veelgi ei mõista, et Egiptus hukkub?'

⁸ Siis toodi Mooses ja Aaron tagasi vaarao juurde ja tema ütles neile: 'Minge teenige Issandat, oma Jumalat! Aga kes need minejad õieti on?'

⁹ Ja Mooses vastas: 'Me läheme oma noorte ja vanadega, oma poegade ja tütardega, me läheme oma lammaste, kitsede ja veistega, sest meil on Issanda püha.'

¹⁰ Tema aga ütles neile: 'Issand olevat siis teie juures, kui ma lasen ära teid ja teie väetid lapsed! Te näete ka ise, et teil on kuri nõu.

¹¹ Nõnda ei sünni! Mingu ainult mehed ja teenigu Issandat, sest te olete ju seda nõudnud!' Ja nad aeti vaarao eest ära.

¹² Siis Issand ütles Moosesele: 'Siruta oma käsi Egiptusemaa kohale rohutirtsude pärast, et need tuleksid Egiptusemaale ja sööksid ära kõik maa rohu, kõik, mis rahe on alles jätnud!'

¹³ Ja Mooses sirutas oma kepi välja Egiptusemaa kohale ning Issand saatis maale idatuule kogu selle päeva ja kogu selle öö; kui hommik tuli, tõi idatuul kaasa rohutirtsud.

¹⁴ Rohutirtsud tulid kogu Egiptusemaale ja laskusid väga suurel hulgal kõigisse Egiptuse paigusse; enne seda ei ole rohutirtse sel määral olnud ega ole neid olnud ka enam pärast seda.

¹⁵ Need katsid kogu maapinna, nõnda et maa mustas; nad sõid ära kõik maa rohu ja kõik puude vilja, mis rahe oli üle jätnud. Ja kogu Egiptusemaal ei jäänud üle midagi haljast puudel ega väljarohtudel.

¹⁶ Siis vaarao kutsus kiiresti Moosese ja Aaroni ning ütles: 'Ma olen pattu teinud Issanda, teie Jumala, ja teie vastu.

¹⁷ Nüüd aga andke mu patt veel seekord andeks ja paluge Issandat, oma Jumalat, et ta ometi võtaks minult selle surma!'

¹⁸ Ja ta läks ära vaarao juurest ning palus Issandat.

¹⁹ Siis Issand pööras tuule väga kangeks läänetuuleks, see tõstis rohutirtsud üles ja ajas need Kõrkjamerre; ühtainsatki rohutirtsu ei jäänud alles kogu Egiptuse maa-alale.

²⁰ Aga Issand tegi kõvaks vaarao südame ja too ei lasknud Iisraeli lapsi minna.

²¹ Siis Issand ütles Moosesele: 'Siruta oma käsi taeva poole, siis tuleb Egiptusemaale niisugune pimedus, et katsu või käega!'

²² Ja Mooses sirutas oma käe taeva poole ning kogu Egiptusemaale tuli kolmeks päevaks pilkane pimedus:

²³ üks ei näinud teist ja ükski ei liikunud paigast kolmel päeval. Aga kõigil Iisraeli lastel oli oma asupaikades valge.

²⁴ Siis vaarao kutsus Moosese ning ütles: 'Minge teenige Issandat! Ainult teie lambad, kitsed ja veised jäägu paigale. Ka teie väetid lapsed mingu koos teiega!'

²⁵ Aga Mooses vastas: 'Sina pead meile kaasa andma ka tapa- ja põletusohvrid, et saaksime neid tuua Issandale, oma Jumalale!

²⁶ Meie karigi peab tulema koos meiega, sõrgagi ei tohi maha jääda, sest sellest me ju võtame Issanda, oma Jumala teenimiseks. Me ei tea isegi, millega peame teenima Issandat, enne kui jõuame sinna.'

²⁷ Aga Issand tegi kõvaks vaarao südame, nõnda et ta ei tahtnud neid ära lasta.

²⁸ Ja vaarao ütles temale: 'Mine ära mu juurest! Hoia, et sa enam ei ilmu mu palge ette! Sest päeval, mil sa ilmud mu palge ette, sa sured!'

²⁹ Ja Mooses vastas: 'Õigesti oled rääkinud! Enam ma ei ilmu su palge ette!'

¹ Moses answered, "But, behold, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, 'Yahweh has not appeared to you.'"

² Yahweh said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod."

³ He said, "Throw it on the ground." He threw it on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses ran away from it.

⁴ Yahweh said to Moses, "Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail." He Put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand.

⁵ "That they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

⁶ Yahweh said furthermore to him, "Now put your hand inside your cloak." He put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.

⁷ He said, "Put your hand inside your cloak again." He Put his hand inside his cloak again, and when he took it out of his cloak, behold, it had turned again as his other flesh.

⁸ "It will happen, if they will neither believe you nor listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

⁹ It will happen, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river, and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take out of the river will become blood on the dry land."

¹⁰ Moses said to Yahweh, "O Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."

¹¹ Yahweh said to him, "Who made man's mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn't it I, Yahweh?

¹² Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak."

¹³ He said, "Oh, Lord, please send someone else."

¹⁴ The anger of Yahweh was kindled against Moses, and he said, "What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Also, behold, he comes forth to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

¹⁵ You shall speak to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do.

¹⁶ He will be your spokesman to the people; and it will happen, that he will be to you a mouth, and you will be to him as God.

¹⁷ You shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs."

¹⁸ Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, "Please let me go and return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive." Jethro said to Moses, "go in peace."

¹⁹ Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return into Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead."

²⁰ Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took God's rod in his hand.

²¹ Yahweh said to Moses, "When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.

²² You shall tell Pharaoh, 'Thus says Yahweh, Israel is my son, my firstborn,

²³ and I have said to you, "Let my son go, that he may serve me;" and you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.'"

²⁴ It happened on the way at a lodging place, that Yahweh met Moses and wanted to kill him.

²⁵ Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me."

²⁶ So he let him alone. Then she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood," because of the circumcision.

²⁷ Yahweh said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." He went, and met him on God's mountain, and kissed him.

²⁸ Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had instructed him.

²⁹ Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel.

³⁰ Aaron spoke all the words which Yahweh had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

³¹ The people believed, and when they heard that Yahweh had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.