Exodus 4:16

16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.

Exodus 4:16 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
16 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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.
New Living Translation (NLT)
16 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.
The Message Bible (MSG)
16 He will speak to the people for you. He'll act as your mouth, but you'll decide what comes out of it.
American Standard Version (ASV)
16 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.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
16 Aaron will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and you will be like God.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
16 He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and you will serve as God to him.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
16 He will speak to the people for you. He will be like your mouth. And you will be like God to him.

Exodus 4:16 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 4:16

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 F1 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 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F1 Targum Jon. Jerus. & Abendana in loc.

Exodus 4:16 In-Context

14 Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you.
15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.
16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.
17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.” Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”

Cross References 2

  • 1. Exodus 7:1-2; Jeremiah 15:19; Jeremiah 36:6
  • 2. Numbers 33:1; Psalms 77:20; Psalms 105:26; Micah 6:4
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