Exodus 4:4
2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
3 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.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
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
- “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.
- KJV
- And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
- WEB
- The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand, and take it by the tail.” He stretched out his hand, and took hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand.
- ASV
- And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail: (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand:)
- DARBY
- And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand and take it by the tail and he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand
- BLB
- And YHWH said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and seize [it] by its tail”—and he stretched out his hand and grasped hold of it, and it became a staff in his palm—
- ÅB
- Og Herren sa til Moses: Rekk ut din hånd og grip den i halen! Så rakte han ut hånden og grep fatt i den, og den ble til en stav i hans hånd.
- OTB
- Da sa Herren til Moses: «Rekk ut hånden og grip den i halen.» Så rakte han ut hånden, grep den, og den ble til en stav i hånden hans igjen.
- B1930
- Og Herren sa til Moses: Rekk ut din hånd og grip den i halen! Så rakte han ut hånden og grep fatt i den, og den blev til en stav i hans hånd.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Mark 16:18
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Read in contextActs 28:3–6
And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
Read in contextLuke 10:19
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Read in contextPsalms 91:13
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Read in contextJohn 2:5
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
Read in contextGenesis 22:1–2
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Read in context