16. He will speak to the people for you. He will be like your mouth. And you will be like God to him.
17. "But take this wooden staff in your hand. You will be able to do miraculous signs with it."
18. Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro. He said to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt. I want to see if any of them are still alive." Jethro said, "Go. I hope everything goes well with you."
19. The Lord had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt. All of the men who wanted to kill you are dead."
20. So Moses got his wife and sons. He put them on a donkey. Together they started back to Egypt. And he took the wooden staff in his hand. It was the staff God would use in a powerful way.
21. The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, "When you return to Egypt, do all of the miracles I have given you the power to do. Do them in the sight of Pharaoh. But I will make his heart stubborn. He will not let the people go.