Exodus 4:2 - Forerunner Commentary

Exodus 4:2

Miraculous Signs for Pharaoh

1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ”

2 So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.”

3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand),

5 “that they may ^abelieve that the ^bLord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

6 Furthermore the Lord said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, ^alike snow.

7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, ^ait was restored like his other flesh.

8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the ^afirst sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.

9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from¹ the river and pour it on the dry land. ^aThe water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.”

10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but ^aI am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

11 So the Lord said to him, ^a“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?

Verse Comparison: Exodus 4:2

<< Exodus 4:1

Exodus 4:3 >>

American Standard Version
And Jehovah said unto him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod.

Amplified® Bible
And the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod.

Contemporary English Version
The LORD answered, "What's that in your hand?" "A walking stick," Moses replied.

Darby English Version
And Jehovah said to him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A staff.

Good News Bible
So the LORD asked him, "What are you holding?" "A walking stick," he answered.

King James Version
And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

New American Standard Bible
The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand? And he said, "A staff.""

New International Version
Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he replied.

New King James Version
So the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod."

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
The LORD said to him, "What do you have in your hand?" And he said, "A staff."

Revised Standard Version
The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod."

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith unto him, `What `is' this in thy hand?' and he saith, `A rod;'

New English Translation
The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”¹

<< Exodus 4:1

Exodus 4:3 >>