Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Exo Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 C36 C37 C38 C39 C40
Exo 4 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
(All still tentative.)
OEB No OEB EXO book available
Moff No Moff EXO book available
KJB-1611 1 Moses rod is turned into a Serpent. 6 His hand is leprous. 10 He is loath to bee sent. 14 Aaron is appointed to assist him. 18 Moses departeth from Iethro. 21 Gods message to Pharaoh. 24 Zipporah circumciseth her sonne. 27 Aaron is sent to meet Moses. 31 The people beleeueth them.
(1 Moses rod is turned into a Serpent. 6 His hand is leprous. 10 He is loath to be sent. 14 Aaron is appointed to assist him. 18 Moses departeth from Yethro. 21 Gods message to Pharaoh. 24 Zipporah circumciseth her son. 27 Aaron is sent to meet Moses. 31 The people believes them.)
- v. 1–17: Moses hesitates to obey so Yahweh gives Moses signs to prove his commission- v. 18–28: Moses goes back to Egypt- v. 29–31: Moses and Aaron meet with the Israelite leaders and tell them what Yahweh said
* There is a difficult transition between 4:4 and 4:5 because the quotation stops in the middle to inject a bit of narrative. When it resumes in 4:5, the sentence seems incomplete (even if merged directly with the quotation fragment in 4:4). (See: figs-ellipsis)* Yahweh’s instructions to Moses are complex, and there are up to four levels of quotations in this chapter. Translators will need to decide if some of these need to become indirect quotations (if that is possible in their language) and take great care to use the proper quotation markings in the proper locations.
* The order of events is not always clear. In 4:14 Yahweh tells Moses that Aaron is coming to meet him, but Yahweh telling Aaron to go meet Moses in the wilderness is not recorded until 4:27.* The timing of the events in 4:18-4:27, especially verses 18–19 and 27 in relation to the rest of the events of the chapter, is unclear.
The first of over 400 occurrences throughout the Old Testament of a standard phrase used to introduce direct, authoritative instruction from Yahweh occurs in 4:22. It occurs ten times in the book of Exodus; nine of these are between chapters 4–11. It would be good for your team to have a standard way to translate this that makes it clear that the words that come next are directly from God. If your language has a standard way of introducing a new message from your leader that alerts the hearers that these are the words of the leader, that would be a good phrase to consider.
The encounter recorded from 4:24 to 4:26 is one of the strangest and most difficult passages in the entire book. Difficulties include:* To whom do the pronouns refer? Masculine pronouns are used throughout the section, but there are two possible antecedents, Moses (who is not named in the narrative) and Zipporah’s son (who was presumably also Moses’ son, but this is how he is referred to in this text. For why, see below on why Yahweh did this). Most commentators believe the pronouns refer to Moses.* Circumcision is described in fairly graphic detail. Different cultures will need to approach this differently. Some may have terms for circumcision, while others may be comfortable translating mostly literally, and others will need to use euphemisms or other strategies to translate. (See: circumcise)* The meaning of the phrase a bridegroom of blood (ULT) is unknown.* Why did Yahweh attack Moses? Many commentators conclude that Moses had neglected to circumcise one of his sons because it displeased Zipporah, and Yahweh was holding Moses responsible before he returned to lead the Israelites (who should have been circumcised). When Zipporah repented by circumcising the son herself and touching the foreskin to Moses’ feet, Yahweh relents. These conclusions should help inform translation but should not be made explicit in the text.
This chapter introduces the concept that Israel, the people group, is the chosen people of God and God’s firstborn son. (See: elect and peopleofgod and firstborn)
Scholars are divided over how to understand this statement. There is debate over how Pharaoh has an active or passive role in the hardening of his own heart. Translators should simply follow the text. In Exodus 4–14 there are ten statements that Yahweh hardens Pharaoh’s heart, and ten statements that Pharaoh hardens his own heart. (See: figs-activepassive)