EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Exodus 4:10
10Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘My Lord, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly and I speak with difficulty. I never could speak well. And even now, when you have spoken to me, I still cannot speak well.’
Exodus 4:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
- New International Version (NIV)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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But Moses said to the Lord, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
Context of Exodus 4:10
8God said, ‘The leaders may not believe you. They may not think that the miracle with the stick shows anything. But they may believe you when you do the second miracle. 9But they may still not listen to your message. If they will not even believe those two miracles, do this: Take some water from the River Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water that you take from the river will become blood on the ground.’ Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘My Lord, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly and I speak with difficulty. I never could speak well. And even now, when you have spoken to me, I still cannot speak well.’ 11Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Who has made human mouths? Who makes a person that cannot speak? Who makes a person that cannot hear? Who makes a person who can see, or who cannot see? It is I, the Lord God! 12Now go! I will help you to speak well. I will teach you what you must say.’
Read all of Exodus 4Exodus 4:10 word by word
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֣ה אֶל־יְהוָה֮ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנָי֒ לֹא֩ אִ֨ישׁ דְּבָרִ֜ים אָנֹ֗כִי גַּ֤ם מִתְּמוֹל֙ גַּ֣ם מִשִּׁלְשֹׁ֔ם גַּ֛ם מֵאָ֥ז דַּבֶּרְךָ אֶל־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֧י כְבַד־פֶּ֛ה וּכְבַ֥ד לָשׁ֖וֹן אָנֹֽכִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- Oבִּיbîy · pleaseH994
- my Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Iאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- not eloquentדָּבָרdâbâr · word: speakingH1697
- neither heretoforeתְּמוֹלtemôl temôl · yesterdayH8543
- neither heretoforeשִׁלְשֹׁםshilshôm shilshôm · three days agoH8032
- nor sinceמֵאָז'âz · the pastH227
- thou hast spokenדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- unto thy servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- slowכָּבֵדkâbêd · heavyH3515
- of speechפֶּהpeh · lip: wordH6310
- tongueלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
Cross-references for Exodus 4:10
- Exodus 4:1Then Moses replied, ‘Perhaps the leaders of Israel will not believe me. Perhaps they will not listen to my message. Perhaps they will say, “The Lord did not really appear to you.” ’
- Job 12:2‘You people think that you know everything. You think that there will be no wisdom after you die.
- 1 Corinthians 2:1Christian friends, I came to tell you God's true message. I did not use clever words when I spoke to you. I did not try to make you think that I was very wise.
- 2 Corinthians 10:10Some people say: ‘Paul's letters are powerful and they say strong things. But when he himself is here with us, he seems to be weak. And the words that he speaks have no value.’
- 2 Corinthians 11:6Perhaps I do not speak as well as they speak. But I do know what I am speaking about. We have always made this very clear to you in everything that we do.
- Exodus 6:12But Moses said to the Lord, ‘Look! Even the Israelites have not listened to me. So Pharaoh certainly will not listen to me. You know that I do not speak well.’
- Jeremiah 1:6I answered, ‘Lord God, I do not know how to speak. I am only a child.’
- Acts 7:22Moses had teachers who taught him all the wise things that the Egyptians knew. He learned how to speak well. He could also do powerful things.
Commentaries on Exodus 4:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10I am not eloquent - דברים איש לא lo ish debarim, I am not a man of words; a periphrasis common in the Scriptures. So Job 11:2, שפתים איש ish sephathayim, a man of lips, signifies one that is talkative. Psalm 140:11, לשון איש ish lashon, a man of tongue, signifies a prattler. But how could it be said that Moses was not eloquent, when St. Stephen asserts, Acts 7:22, that he was mighty in words as well as in deeds? There are three ways of solving this…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10Eloquent - See the margin. The double expression “slow of speech (Ezekiel 3:5 margin) and of a slow tongue” seems to imply a difficulty both in finding words and in giving them utterance, a very natural result of so long a period of a shepherd‘s life, passed in a foreign land. Since thou hast spoken - This expression seems to imply that some short time had intervened between this address and the first communication of the divine purpose to Moses.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-17Verses 10-17 Moses continued backward to the work God designed him for; there was much of cowardice, slothfulness, and unbelief in him. We must not judge of men by the readiness of their discourse. A great deal of wisdom and true worth may be with a slow tongue. God sometimes makes choice of those as his messengers, who have the least of the advantages of art or nature, that his grace in them may appear the more glorious. Christ's disciples were no…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-17The fourth and final protest of Moses was that he could not speak well. He seemed desperate to avoid this difficult task. God was becoming angry at Moses for refusing to accept the truth. The outcome did not depend on the ability of Moses. Instead, it depended on his willingness to let God's power work through him.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1310-13. I am not eloquent--It is supposed that Moses labored under a natural defect of utterance or had a difficulty in the free and fluent expression of his ideas in the Egyptian language, which he had long disused. This new objection was also overruled, but still Moses, who foresaw the manifold difficulties of the undertaking, was anxious to be freed from the responsibility.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 4:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 4
- 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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