1. Moses asked the Lord, “Suppose everyone refuses to listen to my message, and no one believes that you really appeared to me?”
2. The Lord answered, “What's that in your hand?”“A walking stick,” Moses replied.
3. “Throw it down!” the Lord commanded. So Moses threw the stick on the ground. It immediately turned into a snake, and Moses jumped back.
4. “Pick it up by the tail!” the Lord told him. And when Moses did this, the snake turned back into a walking stick.
5. “Do this,” the Lord said, “and the Israelites will believe that you have seen me, the God who was worshipped by their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
6. Next, the Lord commanded Moses, “Put your hand inside your shirt.” Moses obeyed, and when he took it out, his hand had turned white as snow—like someone with leprosy.
7. “Put your hand back inside your shirt,” the Lord told him. Moses did so, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.
8-9. Then the Lord said, “If no one believes either of these miracles, take some water from the River Nile and pour it on the ground. The water will immediately turn into blood.”
10. Moses replied, “I have never been a good speaker. I wasn't one before you spoke to me, and I'm not one now. I am slow at speaking, and I can never think of what to say.”