Exodus 4:10
New International Version
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 Living Translation
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.”

English Standard Version
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.”

Berean Standard Bible
“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.”

King James Bible
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 King James Version
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 American Standard Bible
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.”

NASB 1995
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.”

NASB 1977
Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

Legacy Standard Bible
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.”

Amplified Bible
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.”

Christian Standard Bible
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.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
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 I am slow and hesitant in speech.”

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Moshe said to LORD JEHOVAH, “I beg of you my Lord, I have not been a man who is articulate, even from yesterday or from the day before yesterday, also from the time that you have spoken with your Servant, because I am a stutterer in speaking and slow of tongue.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
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.

Contemporary English Version
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."

Douay-Rheims Bible
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.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Moses 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."

Good News Translation
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."

International Standard Version
Then Moses told the LORD, "Please, LORD, I'm not eloquent. I never was in the past nor am I now since you spoke to your servant. In fact, I talk too slowly and I have a speech impediment."

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.'

Literal Standard Version
And Moses says to YHWH, “O my Lord, I [am] not a man of words, either yesterday, or before, or since Your speaking to Your servant, for I [am] slow of mouth, and slow of tongue.”

Majority Standard Bible
“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.”

New American Bible
Moses, however, said to the LORD, “If you please, my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue.”

NET Bible
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."

New Revised Standard Version
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.”

New Heart English Bible
Moses said to the LORD, "Please, 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."

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
Moses said to Yahweh, “O 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.”

Young's Literal Translation
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.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Appointment of Aaron
10“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.” 11And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?…

Cross References
Exodus 3:11
But Moses asked God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"

Exodus 4:1
Then Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.'"

Exodus 6:12
But in the LORD's presence Moses replied, "If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?"

Exodus 6:30
But in the LORD's presence Moses replied, "Since I am unskilled in speech, why would Pharaoh listen to me?"

Jeremiah 1:6
"Ah, Lord GOD," I said, "I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!"

Micah 6:4
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.


Treasury of Scripture

And Moses said to the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since you have spoken to your servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

eloquent.

Exodus 4:1
And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

Job 12:2
No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.

1 Corinthians 2:1-4
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God…

heretofore.

Exodus 6:12
And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?

Jeremiah 1:6
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

Acts 7:22
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

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Exodus 4
1. Moses's rod is turned into a serpent.
6. His hand is leprous.
10. He loathes his calling.
13. Aaron is appointed to assist him.
18. Moses departs from Jethro.
21. God's message to Pharaoh.
24. Zipporah circumcises her son.
27. Aaron is sent to meet Moses.
29. The people believe them.














(10) I am not eloquent.--Heb., No man of words am I. Moses, still reluctant, raises a new objection. He is not gifted with facility of speech. Words do not. come readily to him; perhaps, when they come, he has a difficulty in uttering them. According to a Jewish tradition, he was unable to pronounce the labials, b, f, m, p, v. According to his own expressions at the end of the verse, he was "heavy" or "slow of speech," and "heavy" or "slow of tongue."

Neither heretofore.--Heb., neither yesterday, nor the day before. It is a Hebrew idiom to make these words cover past time generally. (See below, Exodus 5:7-8; Exodus 5:14; and comp. Genesis 31:2; Genesis 31:5, and 2Samuel 3:17.) . . .

Verse 10. - And Moses said, O my Lord. The phrase used by Moses is full of force. It is "vox dolentis et supplicantis" (Noldius). Joseph's brethren use it to the steward of Joseph's house, when they expect to be fallen upon and taken for bondsmen (Genesis 43:20); Judah used it (Genesis 44:18) when pleading with Joseph for Benjamin; Aaron when pleading for Miriam (Numbers 13:11); Joshua when expostulating with God about Ai (Joshua 7:8). There is a deprecatory idea in it, as well as a supplicatory one; an idea like that which Abraham expanded into the words, "Oh! let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once" (Genesis 18:32). Moses feels that he is trying the patience of God to the uttermost; but yet he must make one more effort to escape his mission. I am not eloquent. Literally, as in the margin, "a man of words." "Words do not come readily to my tongue when I attempt to speak; I have never been a fluent speaker, neither yesterday (i.e. recently) nor the day before (i.e. formerly). Nor do I even find that I have become eloquent by divine inspiration since thou spakest with me. Still I remain slow of speech and slow of tongue." A question is raised whether the mere difficulty of finding words and giving them utterance - a difficulty felt at first by almost every speaker - is here meant, or something further, as "a natural impediment owing to defect in the organs of speech" (Kalisch), or a want of readiness, owing to disuse, in speaking the Hebrew language (Clarke). The latter suggestion is scarcely consistent with the ease and fluency with which Moses had carried on the conversation in Hebrew up to this point. The former is a possible meaning, though not a necessary one. According to a Jewish tradition, Moses had a difficulty in pronouncing the labials b, v, m, ph, p.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Please,
בִּ֣י (bî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 994: Oh that!, with leave, if it please

Lord,”
אֲדֹנָי֒ (’ă·ḏō·nāy)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 136: The Lord

Moses
מֹשֶׁ֣ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

replied,
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“I
אָנֹ֗כִי (’ā·nō·ḵî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 595: I

have never
לֹא֩ (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

been eloquent,
דְּבָרִ֜ים (də·ḇā·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

neither
גַּ֤ם (gam)
Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

in the past
מִתְּמוֹל֙ (mit·tə·mō·wl)
Preposition-m | Adverb
Strong's 8543: Ago, a, time since, yesterday, day before yesterday

nor
גַּ֛ם (gam)
Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

since
מֵאָ֥ז (mê·’āz)
Preposition-m | Adverb
Strong's 227: At that time, place, therefore

You have spoken
דַּבֶּרְךָ‪‬ (dab·ber·ḵā)
Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Your servant,
עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ (‘aḇ·de·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

for
כִּ֧י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

I
אָנֹֽכִי׃ (’ā·nō·ḵî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 595: I

am slow
כְבַד־ (ḵə·ḇaḏ-)
Adjective - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3515: Heavy

of speech
פֶּ֛ה (peh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6310: The mouth, edge, portion, side, according to

and
וּכְבַ֥ד (ū·ḵə·ḇaḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3515: Heavy

tongue.”
לָשׁ֖וֹן (lā·šō·wn)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 3956: The tongue


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OT Law: Exodus 4:10 Moses said to Yahweh Oh Lord (Exo. Ex)
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