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’?”

² Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,”^(B) he replied.

³ The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake,^(C) and he ran from it. ⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

²³ Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother^(A) and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

³ She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet^(A) who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

⁴ Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. ⁵ “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents^[a] of silver, six thousand shekels^[b] of gold and ten sets of clothing.^{(B) 6} The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷ As soon as the king of Israel read the letter,^(C) he tore his robes and said, “Am I God?^(D) Can I kill and bring back to life?^(E) Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel^(F) with me!”

⁸ When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet^(G) in Israel.”