Exodus 4:11

Exodus 4:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then 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?
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?

Context of Exodus 4:11

9But if they won’t believe these two miraculous signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground. The water you take from the Nile will turn into blood on the ground.” 10Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I’m not a good speaker. I’ve never been a good speaker, and I’m not now, even though you’ve spoken to me. I speak slowly, and I become tongue-tied easily.” The Lord asked him, “Who gave humans their mouths? Who makes humans unable to talk or hear? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? It is I, the Lord! 12Now go, and I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” 13But Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

Exodus 4:11 word by word

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֵלָ֗יו מִ֣י שָׂ֣ם פֶּה֮ לָֽאָדָם֒ א֚וֹ מִֽי־יָשׂ֣וּם אִלֵּ֔ם א֣וֹ חֵרֵ֔שׁ א֥וֹ פִקֵּ֖חַ א֣וֹ עִוֵּ֑ר הֲלֹ֥א אָנֹכִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto him, Who hath madeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• man’sאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
• the dumbאִלֵּם'illêm · muteH483
• or deafחֵרֵשׁchêrêsh · deafH2795
• or the seeingפִּקֵּחַpiqqêach · seeingH6493
• or the blindעִוֵּר‛ivvêr · blindH5787

Cross-references for Exodus 4:11

• Genesis 18:14Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will come back to you next year at this time, and Sarah will have a son.”
• Psalms 51:15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will tell about your praise.
• Psalms 94:9God created ears. Do you think he can’t hear? He formed eyes. Do you think he can’t see?
• Psalms 146:8The Lord gives sight to blind people. The Lord straightens ⌞the backs⌟ of those who are bent over. The Lord loves righteous people.
• Isaiah 6:7He touched my mouth with it and said, “This has touched your lips. Your guilt has been taken away, and your sin has been forgiven.”
• Isaiah 35:5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unplugged.
• Isaiah 42:7You will give sight to the blind, bring prisoners out of prisons, and bring those who live in darkness out of dungeons.
• Jeremiah 1:6I, Jeremiah, said, “Almighty Lord, I do not know how to speak. I am only a boy!”
• Ezekiel 3:26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you can’t talk or criticize them, even though they are rebellious people.
• Ezekiel 33:22The evening before the refugee arrived, the power of the Lord came over me. On the morning the refugee arrived, the Lord made me speak. So I spoke, and I was no longer quiet.
• Amos 3:6If a ram’s horn sounds an alarm in a city, won’t the people be alarmed? If there is a disaster in a city, hasn’t the Lord done it?

Commentaries on Exodus 4:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Who hath made man's mouth? etc. - Cannot he who formed the mouth, the whole organs of speech, and hath given the gift of speech also, cannot he give utterance? God can take away those gifts and restore them again. Do not provoke him: he who created the eye, the ear, and the mouth, hath also made the blind, the deaf, and the dumb.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. 11God created the organs of speech. These include the mouth, tongue, and lips. He has also decided each person’s abilities in speaking. God can use the abilities he has given. He is able to work through what he has created and chosen.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 4:11

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Call
• Communion
• Condescension of God
• Deafness
• Dumb (Deafness, Mute)
• Excuses
• Faith
• God
• Israel
• Moses
• Preaching
• Reasoning
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Dead
• Dumb
• Leprous
• Slow
• Spokesman
• Blindness
• Deaf
• Egypt
• Exodus, the

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