New International Version
Exodus 4:10
10Moses 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.”
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.
- 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.”
- 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
8Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. 9But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.” 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.” 11The 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? 12Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to 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 4:1Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
- Job 12:2“Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you!
- 1 Corinthians 2:1And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
- 2 Corinthians 10:10For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”
- 2 Corinthians 11:6I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
- Exodus 6:12But 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?”
- Jeremiah 1:6“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
- Acts 7:22Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
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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