Exodus 4:16

Brenton's Septuagint

And he shall speak for thee to the people, and he shall be thy mouth, and thou shalt be for him in things pertaining to God.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He will be your spokesman to the people; and it will happen, that he will be to you a mouth, and you will be to him as God.

King James Version
And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

Lexham English Bible
And he will speak for you to the people, and then he will be to you as a mouth, and you will be to him as a god.

New Century Version
Aaron will speak to the people for you. You will tell him what God says, and he will speak for you.

New English Translation
He will speak for you to the people, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were his God.

Amplified Bible
"Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; he will act as a mouthpiece for you, and you will be as God to him [telling him what I say to you].

New American Standard Bible
"He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he shall be thy spokesman vnto the people: and he shall be, euen he shall be as thy mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God.

Legacy Standard Bible
Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will become as a mouth for you, and you will become as God to him.

Complete Jewish Bible
Thus he will be your spokesman to the people, in effect; for you, he will be a mouth; and for him, you will be like God.

Darby Translation
And he shall speak for thee unto the people; and it shall come to pass that he shall be to thee for a mouth, and thou shalt be to him for God.

Easy-to-Read Version
So Aaron will speak for you. Like God, you will speak to him, and he will tell the people what you say.

English Standard Version
He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.

George Lamsa Translation
And he shall be your spokesman to the people; and he shall be an interpreter for you, and you shall be to him instead of God.

Good News Translation
He will be your spokesman and speak to the people for you. Then you will be like God, telling him what to say.

Christian Standard Bible®
He will speak to the people for you. He will serve as a mouth for you, and you will serve as God to him.

Literal Translation
And he shall speak for you to the people. And it shall be, he shall be a mouth for you, and you shall be a god for him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& he shall speake vnto the people for the. He shal be thy mouth, & thou shalt be his God.

American Standard Version
And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God.

Bible in Basic English
And he will do the talking for you to the people: he will be to you as a mouth and you will be to him as God.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he shalbe thy spokesman vnto the people, and he shalbe [euen] he shalbe to thee in steade of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him, in steade of God.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him in God's stead.

King James Version (1611)
And he shal be thy spokesman vnto the people: and he shall be, euen hee shall be to thee in stead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him in stead of God.

English Revised Version
And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God.

Berean Standard Bible
He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He schal speke for thee to the puple, and he schal be thi mouth; forsothe thou schalt be to him in these thingis, that perteynen to God.

Young's Literal Translation
and he, he hath spoken for thee unto the people, and it hath come to pass, he -- he is to thee for a mouth, and thou -- thou art to him for God;

Update Bible Version
And he shall be your spokesman to the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to you a mouth, and you shall be to him as God.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he shall speak for thee to the people: and he shall be, [even] he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

World English Bible
He will be your spokesman to the people; and it will happen, that he will be to you a mouth, and you will be to him as God.

New King James Version
So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.

New Living Translation
Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.

New Life Bible
He will speak to the people for you. He will be a mouth for you. And you will be as God to him.

New Revised Standard
He indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, he, shall speak for thee unto the people, - so shall it come to pass that he shall become thy mouth, and thou shalt become to him as God.

Douay-Rheims Bible
He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God.

Revised Standard Version
He shall speak for you to the people; and he shall be a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, Who has given a mouth to man, and who has made the very hard of hearing, and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? have not I, God? ¹² And now go and I will open thy mouth, and will instruct thee in what thou shalt say. ¹³ And Moses said, I pray thee, Lord, appoint another able person whom thou shalt send. ¹⁴ And the Lord was greatly angered against Moses, and said, Lo! is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he will surely speak to thee; and, behold, he will come forth to meet thee, and beholding thee he will rejoice within himself. ¹⁵ And thou shalt speak to him; and thou shalt put my words into his mouth, and I will open thy mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what ye shall do. ¹⁶ And he shall speak for thee to the people, and he shall be thy mouth, and thou shalt be for him in things pertaining to God. ¹⁷ And this rod that was turned into a serpent thou shalt take in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt work miracles.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Exodus 7:1, Exodus 7:2, Exodus 18:19, Psalms 82:6, John 10:34, John 10:35

Reciprocal: Genesis 20:7 - a prophet Exodus 4:28 - told Aaron Exodus 4:30 - And Aaron 1 Samuel 28:13 - gods ascending Job 33:6 - in Job 36:2 - I have yet to speak Jeremiah 1:9 - Behold Jeremiah 15:19 - as my Jeremiah 36:32 - who Ezekiel 3:8 - General Luke 1:64 - his mouth

Cross-References

Genesis 3:8
(3:9) And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden.

Genesis 4:14
If thou castest me out this day from the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from thy presence, and I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth, then it will be that any one that finds me shall slay me.

Exodus 20:18
And all the people perceived the thundering, and the flashes, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and all the people feared and stood afar off,

2 Kings 13:23
And the Lord had mercy and compassion upon them, and had respect to them because of his covenant with Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob; and the Lord would not destroy them, and did not cast them out from his presence.

2 Kings 24:20
For it was according to the Lord’s anger against Jerusalem and on Juda, until he cast them out of his presence, that Sedekias revolted against the king of Babylon.

Job 1:12
Then the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I give into thine hand all that he has, but touch not himself. So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord.

Job 2:7
So the devil went out from the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from his feet to his head.

Job 20:17
Let him not see the milk of the pastures, nor the supplies of honey and butter.

Psalms 5:11
But let all that trust on thee be glad in thee: they shall exult for ever, and thou shalt dwell among them; and all that love thy name shall rejoice in thee.

Psalms 68:2
As smoke vanishes, let them vanish: as wax melts before the fire, so let the sinners perish from before God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people,.... And open to them Moses's commission from God, and the end of his mission into Egypt, and to them, and declare what signs had been, and would be done, in confirmation of it:

and he shall be, [even] he shall be to thee instead of a mouth; or an interpreter, as all the Targums explain it, and so Jarchi; as he was an orator and master of language, he should speak to the people for Moses, and explain his sense and meaning, and put it into plain, proper, easy language, to be understood by the people; and this may be done where a different language is not spoken, but the same in plainer words, in more pertinent expressions, and better pronounced, and this is repeated for the certainty of it:

and thou shall be to him instead of God; Aaron was to stand between Moses and the people, and speak for him; and Moses was to stand between God and Aaron, and in God's stead, and tell him what orders he had received from him, and which he should communicate; and so some Jewish writers a interpret it of his being to him instead of a master or teacher, one that received doctrine from the Lord, and instructed him in it, and taught him the mind and will of God: or, as Onkelos paraphrases it; "for a prince", and so Jarchi, a civil magistrate, one that had the power of life and death; the administration of civil affairs belonged to Moses, and Aaron, though the elder brother, was subject to him; and in this sense Moses was a god to him; and so in after times, the judges of Israel, they that sat in Moses's chair, were called gods, Psalms 82:1.

a Targum Jon. Jerus. & Abendana in loc.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Instead of a mouth - We may bear in mind Aaron’s unbroken habitude of speaking Hebrew and his probable familiarity with Egyptian.

Instead of God - The word “God” is used of persons who represent the Deity, as kings or judges, and it is understood in this sense here: “Thou shalt be to him a master.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 4:16. He shall be thy spokesman — Literally, He shall speak for thee (or in thy stead) to the people.

He shall be to thee instead of a mouth — He shall convey every message to the people; and thou shalt be to him instead of God - thou shalt deliver to him what I communicate to thee.