¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me^(A)—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me,^(A) and I ate.”

Signs for Moses

4 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen^(A) to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

¹⁰ Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”^(A)

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute?^(B) Who gives them sight or makes them blind?^(C) Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now go;^(D) I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”^(E)

¹³ But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”^(F)

¹⁴ Then the Lord’s anger burned^(G) against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet^(H) you, and he will be glad to see you.

²² “Do not be angry,^(A) my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.^{(B) 23} They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’^{(C) 24} So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”^(D)

The Offer of Life or Death

¹¹ Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.^{(A) 12} It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven^(B) to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”^{(C) 13} Nor is it beyond the sea,^(D) so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”^{(E) 14} No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.^(F)