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Tuesday, July 8th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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New Life Version

Exodus 6:12

But Moses said to the Lord, "See, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then will Pharaoh listen to me? I am not able to speak well."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Circumcision;   Despondency;   Doubting;   Moses;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Circumcision;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Circumcision;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Aaron;   Magic;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Circumcision;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Lips;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Circumcision;   Lip;   Moses;   Prayer;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Uncircumcised;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Aaron;   Circumcision;   Exodus, the Book of;   Lip;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Moshe spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the children of Yisra'el haven't listened to me. How then shall Par`oh listen to me, who am of uncircumcised lips?"
King James Version
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?
Lexham English Bible
And Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, "Look, the Israelites do not listen to me, and how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am a poor speaker?"
New Century Version
But Moses answered, "The Israelites will not listen to me, so surely the king will not listen to me either. I am not a good speaker."
New English Translation
But Moses replied to the Lord , "If the Israelites did not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with difficulty?"
Amplified Bible
But Moses said to the LORD, "Look, [my own people] the Israelites have not listened to me; so how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled and inept in speech?"
New American Standard Bible
But Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, as I am unskilled in speech?"
Geneva Bible (1587)
But Moses spake before the Lorde, saying, Beholde, the children of Israel hearken not vnto me, howe then shall Pharaoh heare mee, which am of vncircumcised lippes?
Legacy Standard Bible
But Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, "Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"
Contemporary English Version
But Moses replied, "I'm not a powerful speaker. If the Israelites won't listen to me, why should the king of Egypt?"
Complete Jewish Bible
Moshe said to Adonai , "Look, the people of Isra'el haven't listened to me; so how will Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?"
Darby Translation
And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Lo, the children of Israel do not hearken to me: how then should Pharaoh hearken to me, to me of uncircumcised lips?
Easy-to-Read Version
But Moses answered, " Lord , the Israelites refuse to listen to me. So surely Pharaoh will also refuse to listen. I am a very bad speaker."
English Standard Version
But Moses said to the Lord , "Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"
George Lamsa Translation
But Moses said to the LORD, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am a stutterer?
Good News Translation
But Moses replied, "Even the Israelites will not listen to me, so why should the king? I am such a poor speaker."
Christian Standard Bible®
But Moses said in the Lord’s presence: “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?”
Literal Translation
And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Behold the sons of Israel have not listened to me. And how should Pharaoh hear me, I being of uncircumcised lips?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Moses spake before ye LORDE, & saide: Beholde, ye childre of Israel herke not vnto me, how shulde Pharao the heare me? And I am also of vncircumcised lyppes.
American Standard Version
And Moses spake before Jehovah, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
Bible in Basic English
And Moses, answering the Lord, said, See, the children of Israel will not give ear to me; how then will Pharaoh give ear to me, whose lips are unclean?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Moyses spake before the Lorde, saying: beholde, the children of Israel hearken not vnto me: howe then shall Pharao heare me, whiche am of vncircumcized lippes?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Moses spoke 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?'
King James Version (1611)
And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel haue not hearkened vnto me: how then shal Pharaoh heare me, who am of vncircumcised lips?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel hearkened not to me, and how shall Pharao hearken to me? and I am not eloquent.
English Revised Version
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?
Berean Standard Bible
But in the LORD's presence Moses replied, "If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Moises answeride bifore the Lord, Lo! the children of Israel here not me, and hou schal Farao here, moost sithen Y am vncircumcidid in lippis?
Young's Literal Translation
and Moses speaketh before Jehovah, saying, `Lo, the sons of Israel have not hearkened unto me, and how doth Pharaoh hear me, and I of uncircumcised lips?'
Update Bible Version
And Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, Look, the sons of Israel haven't listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, I who am of uncircumcised lips?
Webster's Bible Translation
And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who [am] of uncircumcised lips?
World English Bible
Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, "Behold, the children of Israel haven't listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am of uncircumcised lips?"
New King James Version
And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"
New Living Translation
"But Lord !" Moses objected. "My own people won't listen to me anymore. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen? I'm such a clumsy speaker!"
New Revised Standard
But Moses spoke to the Lord , "The Israelites have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Moses spake before Yahweh, saying, - Lo! the sons of Israel have not hearkened unto me, how then shall Pharaoh, hear, I, also being of uncircumcised lips.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Moses answered before the Lord: Behold the children of Israel do not hearken to me: and how will Pharao hear me, especially as I am of uncircumcised lips?
Revised Standard Version
But Moses said to the LORD, "Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am a man of uncircumcised lips?"
THE MESSAGE
Moses answered God , "Look—the Israelites won't even listen to me. How do you expect Pharaoh to? And besides, I stutter."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?"

Contextual Overview

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 "Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land." 12 But Moses said to the Lord, "See, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then will Pharaoh listen to me? I am not able to speak well." 13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He told them to tell the people of Israel and Pharaoh king of Egypt that they were to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

children: Exodus 6:9, Exodus 3:13, Exodus 4:29-31, Exodus 5:19-21

am: The italics shew that this word has been supplied by our translators; hence it may be inferred by some that Moses was uncircumcised. The difficulty is in some measure cleared away, by using the word uncircumcised in the sense of unsuitable or incapacitated - see note on Exodus 6:30, which agrees with Exodus 4:10, where Moses complains of want of eloquence; but by substituting is for am in this place, the connection with the former part of the verse is preserved; "For if the chosen seed, the circumcised sons of Jacob, refuse to hear me," as though Moses had said, "how can I expect to make uncircumcised Pharaoh pay attention to me?" Exodus 6:30, Exodus 4:10, Leviticus 26:41, Deuteronomy 30:6, Isaiah 6:5, Jeremiah 1:6, Jeremiah 6:10, Jeremiah 9:26, Acts 7:51

Reciprocal: Exodus 3:11 - General Leviticus 19:23 - uncircumcised Ezekiel 24:27 - thy

Cross-References

Genesis 6:1
When men became many in number on the earth, and daughters were born to them,
Genesis 6:2
the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful. And they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
Genesis 6:3
Then the Lord said, "My Spirit will not stay in man forever, for he is flesh. But yet he will live for 120 years."
Genesis 6:4
Very large men were on the earth in those days, and later also, when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, who gave birth to their children. These were the powerful men of long ago, men of much strength.
Genesis 6:5
Then the Lord saw that man was very sinful on the earth. Every plan and thought of the heart of man was sinful always.
Genesis 6:8
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 6:13
Then God said to Noah, "I have decided to make an end to all the people on the earth. They are the cause of very much trouble. See, I will destroy them as I destroy the earth.
Genesis 6:14
Make a large boat of gopher wood for yourself. Build rooms in the boat. And cover it inside and out with tar.
Genesis 6:15
This is how you are to make it: The boat is to be as long as 150 long steps, as wide as twenty-five long steps, and eight times taller than a man.
Genesis 6:16
Make a window for the boat, that goes down a cubit from the roof. Put a door in the side of the boat. And make it with first, second, and third floors.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Moses spake before the Lord,.... Who appeared in a visible form, and had spoke to him with an articulate voice, and before whom Moses stood, and made the following reply:

saying, behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; even though he brought a comfortable message to them from the Lord, and delivered many gracious promises of his to them, assuring them of deliverance out of Egypt, and of their possession of the land of Canaan:

how then shall Pharaoh hear me? making a demand upon him to part with a people, from whose labour he receives so much advantage, and has such an addition to his revenues, and who is a mighty king, and haughty monarch. And this is further enforced from his own weakness and unfitness to speak to Pharaoh:

who [am] of uncircumcised lips? had an impediment in his speech, could not speak freely and readily, but with difficulty; perhaps stammered, and so uttered superfluous syllables, repeated them before he could fully pronounce what he aimed at; or in other words, he was not eloquent, which was his old objection, and had been fully answered before: and by this it appears that there was no alteration in the speech of Moses since God spoke with him at Mount Horeb. Some think Moses expected to have had this impediment removed, and tacitly hints at it here, not being so well satisfied with Aaron's being joined with him as his mouth and spokesman, which seemed to carry in it some reflection upon him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Uncircumcised lips - An uncircumcised ear is one that does not hear clearly; an uncircumcised heart one slow to receive and understand warnings; uncircumcised lips, such as cannot speak fluently. The recurrence of the hesitation of Moses is natural; great as was the former trial this was far more severe; yet his words always imply fear of failure, not of personal danger (see Exodus 3:11).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 6:12. Uncircumcised lips? — The word ערל aral, which we translate uncircumcised, seems to signify any thing exuberant or superfluous. Had not Moses been remarkable for his excellent beauty, I should have thought the passage might be rendered protuberant lips; but as this sense cannot be admitted for the above reason, the word must refer to some natural impediment in his speech; and probably means a want of distinct and ready utterance, either occasioned by some defect in the organs of speech, or impaired knowledge of the Egyptian language after an absence of forty years. Exodus 4:10.


 
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