¹ Kuidas küll istub üksinda see kord nii rahvarohke linn! Kes rahvaste seas oli suur, on saanud lesknaise sarnaseks. Vürstitar maakondade hulgas peab tegema orjatööd.

² Ta nutab öösel kibedasti, pisarad voolavad tal üle näo. Pole tal trööstijat ühestki armastajast: kõik ta sõbrad on teda petnud, on saanud ta vaenlasteks.

³ Juuda on sattunud viletsusse ja ränka orjusesse, ta elab paganate seas ega leia hingamist. Kõik jälitajad saavad ta kätte keset kitsikusi.

⁴ Siioni teed leinavad, et pole pühiks tulijaid. Kõik ta väravad on tühjad, ta preestrid ohkavad. Tema neitsid on kurvad ja tal enesel on kibe käes.

⁵ Tema rõhujad on saanud võimu, tema vaenlastel käib käsi hästi. Sest Issand on toonud talle häda tema paljude üleastumiste pärast. Tema lastel on tulnud minna vangidena vaenlase ees.

⁶ Siioni tütrelt on kõik ta toredus läinud. Tema vürstid on nagu hirved, kes ei leia karjamaad; nad astuvad jõuetult tagaajaja ees.

⁷ Jeruusalemm mõtleb oma viletsuse ja kodutuse päevil kõigile kallistele asjadele, mis tal muistsest ajast on olnud. Et ta rahvas langes vaenlase kätte ja tal ei olnud aitajat, siis näevad vaenlased seda ja naeravad tema lõppu.

⁸ Jeruusalemm on raskesti patustanud, seepärast on ta saanud jäleduseks. Kõik, kes teda austasid, põlastavad teda, sest nad on näinud ta alastiolekut. Ka tema ise ohkab ja tõmbub pelgu.

⁹ Tema roojus on ta hõlmadel. Ta ei mõelnud oma lõpule ja on langenud hämmastaval viisil: tal pole trööstijat. Vaata, Issand, mu viletsust, sest vaenlane suurustab!

¹⁰ Vaenlane sirutab käe kõigi ta kalliste asjade järele; sest ta sai näha, et ta pühamusse tulid paganad, need, keda sa olid keelanud, et nad ei tuleks su kogudusse.

¹¹ Kogu ta rahvas ohkab ja otsib leiba: nad annavad oma aarded toidu eest, et pidada hinge sees. Vaata, Issand, ja näe, kui põlatud ma olen!

¹² Kas see teile ei lähegi korda, kõik, kes te mööda lähete? Vaadake ja nähke! Ons olemas valu, minu valu sarnast, mis mulle on tehtud, millega Issand mind on nuhelnud oma tulise viha päeval?

¹³ Ta läkitas kõrgusest tule mu luudesse ja vaevas neid; ta laotas mu jalgadele võrgu, ta tõrjus mind tagasi; ta jättis mind üksikuks igavesti haigena.

¹⁴ Mu üleastumiste ike on kokku seotud, tema käed põimisid need ühte: need tulid mu turjale, tema murdis mu jõu; Issand andis mu nende kätte, ma ei suuda üles tõusta.

¹⁵ Issand heitis kõrvale mu keskelt kõik vägevad; ta kutsus kokku peo minu vastu, et purustada mu noori mehi. Issand sõtkus surutõrt neitsile, Juuda tütrele.

¹⁶ Nende asjade pärast ma nutan, mu silmad, mu silmad voolavad vett. Sest kaugel on minust trööstija, kes turgutaks mu hinge. Mu lapsed on hävitatud, sest vaenlane on vägev.

¹⁷ Siion laiutab käsi, tal ei ole trööstijat. Issand on käsutanud vaenlastena Jaakobi vastu selle enese naabrid. Jeruusalemm on muutunud nende seas jäleduseks.

¹⁸ Õiglane on tema, Issand, sest mina olen tõrkunud tema käsu vastu. Kuulge ometi, kõik rahvad, ja vaadake mu valu: mu neitsid ja noored mehed on läinud vangi.

¹⁹ Ma kutsusin oma armastajaid, nad petsid mind. Mu preestrid ja vanemad surid linnas, kui nad otsisid enesele toitu, et turgutada oma hinge.

²⁰ Vaata, Issand, kuidas mul on kitsas käes: mu sisemus käärib, mu süda pööritab sees, sest ma olen kõvasti tõrkunud. Väljas teeb mõõk mind lastetuks, sees on päris surm.

²¹ Nad on kuulnud, et ma ägan. Mul pole trööstijat. Kõik mu vaenlased on kuulnud mu õnnetusest, nad rõõmutsevad, et sina seda tegid. Too ometi päev, millest sa kuulutasid, et nende käsi käib samuti kui mul!

²² Tulgu kõik nende kurjus su palge ette, ja talita nendega, nagu sa talitasid minuga kõigi mu üleastumiste pärast! Jah, mu ohkeid on palju ja mu süda on haige.

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.