Darby Bible
Exodus 6:12
12And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Lo, the children of Israel do not hearken to me: how then should Pharaoh hearken to me, to me of uncircumcised lips?
Exodus 6:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
- New International Version (NIV)But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But Moses said to the Lord, "Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”
Context of Exodus 6:12
10And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 11Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Lo, the children of Israel do not hearken to me: how then should Pharaoh hearken to me, to me of uncircumcised lips? 13And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a commandment to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. 14These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Enoch and Phallu, Hezron and Carmi: these are the families of Reuben.
Read all of Exodus 6Exodus 6:12 word by word
וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר הֵ֤ן בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹֽא־שָׁמְע֣וּ אֵלַ֔י וְאֵיךְ֙ יִשְׁמָעֵ֣נִי פַרְעֹ֔ה וַאֲנִ֖י עֲרַ֥ל שְׂפָתָֽיִם׃ פRead the interlinear
Cross-references for Exodus 6:12
- Exodus 6:9And Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not listen to Moses from anguish of spirit, and from hard service.
- Exodus 3:13And Moses said to God, Behold, [when] I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
- Exodus 4:29And Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the children of Israel;
- Exodus 5:19And the officers of the children of Israel saw [that] it stood ill with them, because it was said, Ye shall not diminish anything from your bricks, the daily work.
- Exodus 4:10And Moses said to Jehovah, Ah Lord! I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant, for I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.
- Exodus 6:30And Moses said before Jehovah, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how will Pharaoh hearken unto me?
- Leviticus 26:41so that I also walked contrary unto them, and brought them into the land of their enemies. If then their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then accept the punishment of their iniquity,
- Deuteronomy 30:6And Jehovah thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
- Isaiah 6:5And I said, Woe unto me! for I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.
- Jeremiah 1:6And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child.
- Jeremiah 6:10To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
- Jeremiah 9:26Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners [of their beard] cut off, that dwell in the wilderness: for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
- Acts 7:51O stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers, ye also.
Commentaries on Exodus 6:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Uncircumcised lips? - The word ערל aral, which we translate uncircumcised, seems to signify any thing exuberant or superfluous. Had not Moses been remarkable for his excellent beauty, I should have thought the passage might be rendered protuberant lips; but as this sense cannot be admitted for the above reason, the word must refer to some natural impediment in his speech; and probably means a want of distinct and ready utterance, either occasioned by some…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Uncircumcised lips - An uncircumcised ear is one that does not hear clearly; an uncircumcised heart one slow to receive and understand warnings; uncircumcised lips, such as cannot speak fluently. The recurrence of the hesitation of Moses is natural; great as was the former trial this was far more severe; yet his words always imply fear of failure, not of personal danger (see Exodus 3:11).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-13Verses 10-13 The faith of Moses was so feeble that he could scarcely be kept to his work. Ready obedience is always according to the strength of our faith. Though our weaknesses ought to humble us, yet they ought not to discourage us from doing our best in any service we have to do for God. When Moses repeats his baffled arguments, he is argued with no longer, but God gives him and Aaron a charge, both to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh. God's…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-13The crisis reached its lowest point. Even Moses returned to the same struggle he had faced at Mount Sinai. There, when God first called him, Moses had protested and said he was not able to do the task (3:1–4:13). Now Moses once again felt unsure and overwhelmed. However, God did not change his plan. He renewed his command and sent Moses forward again.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. how then shall ... who am of uncircumcised lips?--A metaphorical expression among the Hebrews, who, taught to look on the circumcision of any part as denoting perfection, signified its deficiency or unsuitableness by uncircumcision. The words here express how painfully Moses felt his want of utterance or persuasive oratory. He seems to have fallen into the same deep despondency as his brethren, and to be shrinking with nervous timidity from a…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 6:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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