the Second Week after Easter
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English Standard Version
Exodus 4:10
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- CondensedParallel Translations
Moshe said to the LORD, "Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."
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.
And Moses said to Yahweh, "Please, Lord, I am not a man of words, neither recently nor in the past nor since your speaking to your servant, because I am heavy of mouth and of tongue."
But Moses said to the Lord , "Please, Lord, I have never been a skilled speaker. Even now, after talking to you, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly and can't find the best words."
Then Moses said to the Lord , "O my Lord, I am not an eloquent man, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."
Then Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I am not a man of words (eloquent, fluent), neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and tongue."
Then Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."
But Moses said vnto the Lorde, Oh my Lorde, I am not eloquent, neither at any time haue bene, nor yet since thou hast spoken vnto thy seruant: but I am slowe of speach & slowe of tongue.
Then Moses said to Yahweh, "Please, Lord, I have never been a man of words, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your slave; for I am one with a hard mouth and a hard tongue."
Moses replied, "I have never been a good speaker. I wasn't one before you spoke to me, and I'm not one now. I am slow at speaking, and I can never think of what to say."
Moshe said to Adonai , "Oh, Adonai, I'm a terrible speaker. I always have been, and I'm no better now, even after you've spoken to your servant! My words come slowly, my tongue moves slowly."
And 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.
Then Moses said to the Lord , "But, Lord, I am telling you, I am not a good speaker. I have never been able to speak well. And that hasn't changed since you started talking to me. I am still not a good speaker. You know that I speak slowly and don't use the best words."
And Moses said to the LORD. I beseech thee, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou has spoken to thy servant; for I am a stutterer and slow of speech.
But Moses said, "No, Lord , don't send me. I have never been a good speaker, and I haven't become one since you began to speak to me. I am a poor speaker, slow and hesitant."
But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant—because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”
And Moses said to Jehovah, O Lord, I am not a man of words, either from yesterday or the third day, nor since You have been speaking to Your bondslave. For I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue.
But Moses sayde vnto the LORDE: Oh my LORDE, I am a man yt is not eloquet, from yesterdaye & yeryesterdaye, & sence the tyme yt thou hast spoken vnto thy seruaunt: for I haue a slowe speach, & a slowe tunge.
And Moses said unto Jehovah, Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
And Moses said to the Lord, O Lord, I am not a man of words; I have never been so, and am not now, even after what you have said to your servant: for talking is hard for me, and I am slow of tongue.
Moyses sayd vnto the Lorde: Oh my Lord, I am neither yesterday nor yer yesterday a man eloquet, neither sence thou hast spoken vnto thy seruaunt: but I am slowe mouthed, & slowe tounged.
And Moses said unto the LORD: 'Oh Lord, I am not a man of words, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.'
And Moses saide vnto the Lord, O my lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken vnto thy seruant: but I am slow of speach, and of a slow tongue.
And Moses said to the Lord, I pray, Lord, I have not been sufficient in former times, neither from the time that thou hast begun to speak to thy servant: I am weak in speech, and slow-tongued.
And Moses said unto the LORD, Oh Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
"Please, Lord," Moses replied, "I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue."
Moises seide, Lord, Y biseche, Y am `not eloquent fro yistirdai and the thridde dai ago; and sithen thou hast spokun to thi seruaunt, Y am of more lettid and slowere tunge.
And Moses saith unto Jehovah, `O, my Lord, I [am] not a man of words, either yesterday, or before, or since Thy speaking unto Thy servant, for I [am] slow of mouth, and slow of tongue.'
And Moses said to Yahweh, Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before, nor since you have spoken to your slave; for I am slow of mouth, and slow of tongue.
And Moses said to the LORD, O my Lord, I [am] not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoke to thy servant: but I [am] slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
Moses said to Yahweh, "Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."
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."
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."
Moses said to the Lord, "Lord, I am not a man of words. I have never been. Even now since You spoke to Your servant, I still am not. For I am slow in talking and it is difficult for me to speak."
But Moses said to the Lord , "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."
And Moses said unto Yahweh - Pardon, O My Lord! not a man of words, am I, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, - for heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue, I am.
Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before; and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.
But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either heretofore or since thou hast spoken to thy servant; but I am slow of speech and of tongue."
Moses raised another objection to God : "Master, please, I don't talk well. I've never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer."
Then Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
eloquent: Heb. a man of words, Exodus 4:1, Job 12:2, 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, 2 Corinthians 10:10, 2 Corinthians 11:6
heretofore: Heb. since yesterday, nor since the third day, slow of speech Exodus 6:12, Jeremiah 1:6, Acts 7:22
Reciprocal: Genesis 31:2 - as before Exodus 3:11 - General Exodus 6:30 - uncircumcised Joshua 3:4 - heretofore Joshua 5:14 - my lord Judges 4:8 - General Judges 6:15 - wherewith Judges 7:10 - General 1 Samuel 19:7 - in times past 1 Kings 3:9 - who is able 2 Kings 13:5 - beforetime Isaiah 3:3 - eloquent orator Isaiah 6:5 - a man Isaiah 6:8 - Whom Daniel 10:16 - my Lord Mark 7:37 - he maketh Mark 13:11 - take Acts 18:24 - an 2 Corinthians 3:5 - that 2 Corinthians 12:9 - My grace
Cross-References
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
And the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
Then the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
Then the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me."
‘As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—declares the Lord —I will repay you on this plot of ground.' Now therefore take him up and throw him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord ."
"O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Moses said unto the Lord,.... Notwithstanding the above miracles, he seems unwilling to go on the Lord's errand to Pharaoh and to the Israelites, and therefore invents a new objection after all his other objections had been sufficiently answered:
I am not eloquent; or "a man of words" s, that has words at command, that can speak well readily, and gracefully; such an one, he intimates, was proper to be sent to a king's court, that was an orator, that could make fine speeches, and handsome addresses, for which he was not qualified:
neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant; neither in his younger years had he ever been an eloquent man, nor was there any alteration in him in that respect, since God had given him this call:
but I [am] slow of speech, and of a slow tongue; had some impediment in his speech, could not freely and easily bring out his words, or rightly pronounce them; so Lucian t the Heathen calls Moses slow tongued, or one slow of speech, and uses the same word the Septuagint does here, which version perhaps he had seen, and from thence took it.
s ××ש ××ר×× "vir verborum", Paguinus, Montanus, Piscator, Ainsworth. t In Philopatride.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Eloquent - See the margin. The double expression âslow of speech (Ezekiel 3:5 margin) and of a slow tongueâ 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 shepherdâs 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.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Exodus 4:10. I am not eloquent — ×× ××ש ××ר×× lo ish debarim, I am not a man of words; a periphrasis common in the Scriptures. So Job 11:2, ××ש שפת×× ish sephathayim, a man of lips, signifies one that is talkative. Psalms 140:11, ××ש ×ש×× 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 difficulty:
1. Moses might have had some natural infirmity, of a late standing, which at that time rendered it impossible for him to speak readily, and which he afterwards overcame; so that though he was not then a man of words, yet he might afterwards have been mighty in words as well as deeds.
2. It is possible he was not intimately acquainted with the Hebrew tongue, so as to speak clearly and distinctly in it. The first forty years of his life he had spent in Egypt, chiefly at court; and though it is very probable there was an affinity between the two languages, yet they certainly were not the same. The last forty he had spent in Midian, and it is not likely that the pure Hebrew tongue prevailed there, though it is probable that a dialect of it was there spoken. On these accounts Moses might find it difficult to express himself with that readiness and persuasive flow of language, which he might deem essentially necessary on such a momentous occasion; as he would frequently be obliged to consult his memory for proper expressions, which would necessarily produce frequent hesitation, and general slowness of utterance, which he might think would ill suit an ambassador of God.
3. Though Moses was slow of speech, yet when acting as the messenger of God his word was with power, for at his command the plagues came and the plagues were stayed; thus was he mighty in words as well as in deeds: and this is probably the meaning of St. Stephen.
By the expression, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, he might possibly mean that the natural inaptitude to speak readily, which he had felt, he continued to feel, even since God had begun to discover himself; for though he had wrought several miracles for him, yet he had not healed this infirmity. Exodus 6:12.
