English Standard Version
Exodus 4:10
10But 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."
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.”
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
Context of Exodus 4:10
8"If they will not believe you," God said, "or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground." 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." 11Then the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."
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 answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The Lord did not appear to you.'"
- Job 12:2"No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.
- 1 Corinthians 2:1And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
- 2 Corinthians 10:10For they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account."
- 2 Corinthians 11:6Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
- Exodus 6:12But 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?"
- Jeremiah 1:6Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."
- Acts 7:22And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
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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