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Exodus 4:3

Moses
Miracles and God's intervention

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.’”

2 And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.

4 “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

5 “This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

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Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
KJV
And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
WEB
He said, “Throw it on the ground.” He threw it on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses ran away from it.
ASV
And he said, Cast in on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
DARBY
And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
BLB
And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” And he cast it to the earth, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from before it.
ÅB
Da sa han: Kast den på jorden! Og han kastet den på jorden, og den ble til en slange; og Moses flyktet for den.
OTB
Herren instruerte: «Kast den på bakken.» Så kastet Moses den, og den ble til en slange, og han flyktet fra den.
B1930
Da sa han: Kast den på jorden! Og han kastet den på jorden, og den blev til en slange; og Moses flyktet for den.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Exodus 7:10–15

    So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.

    Read in context

  • Amos 5:19

    It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.

    Read in context

  • Exodus 4:17

    But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”

    Read in context