3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
3 The Lord said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
3 And he said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.
3 "Throw it on the ground." He threw it. It became a snake; Moses jumped back - fast!
3 And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
3 "Throw it down on the ground," the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 4:3
Commentary on Exodus 4:1-9
(Read Exodus 4:1-9)
Moses objects, that the people would not take his word, unless he showed them some sign. God gives him power to work miracles. But those who are now employed to deliver God's messages to men, need not the power to work miracles: their character and their doctrines are to be tried by that word of God to which they appeal. These miracles especially referred to the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ. It belonged to Him only, to cast the power of the devil out of the soul, and to heal the soul of the leprosy of sin; and so it was for Him first to cast the devil out of the body, and to heal the leprosy of the body.