Exodus 4 · Verse 13

Exodus 4:13

And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
Exodus 4:13, King James Version

Exodus 4:13 in other translations

BSBBut Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
WEBMoses said, “Oh, Lord, please send someone else.”
ASVAnd he said, Oh, Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
YLTand he saith, ‘O, my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand Thou dost send.'
DARBYAnd he said, Ah Lord! send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
BBEAnd he said, O Lord, send, if you will, by the hand of anyone whom it seems good to you to send.
WebsterAnd he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

What does Exodus 4:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 4:10-13

10-13. I am not eloquent--It is supposed that Moses labored under a natural defect of utterance or had a difficulty in the free and fluent expression of his ideas in the Egyptian language, which he had long disused. This new objection was also overruled, but still Moses, who foresaw the manifold difficulties of the undertaking, was anxious to be freed from the responsibility.

Read the full comment on Exodus 4:10-13 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 Send - by the hand of him whom thou wilt send - Many commentators, both ancient and modern, have thought that Moses prays here for the immediate mission of the Messiah; as if he had said: "Lord, thou hast purposed to send this glorious person at some time or other, I beseech thee send him now, for who can be sufficient to deliver and rule this people but himself alone?" The Hebrew שלח נא ביד תשלח shelach na beyad tishlach literally translated is, Send now (or, I beseech thee) by the hand thou wilt send; which seems to intimate, Send a person more fit for the work than I am. So the Septuagint: Προχειρισαι δυναμενον αλλον, ὁν αποστελεις· Elect another powerful person, whom thou wilt send. It is right to find out the Messiah wherever he is mentioned in the Old Testament; but to press scriptures into this service which have not an obvious tendency that way, is both improper and dangerous. I am firmly of opinion that Moses had no reference to the Messiah when he spoke these words.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 4:10-17

Moses continued backward to the work God designed him for; there was much of cowardice, slothfulness, and unbelief in him. We must not judge of men by the readiness of their discourse. A great deal of wisdom and true worth may be with a slow tongue. God sometimes makes choice of those as his messengers, who have the least of the advantages of art or nature, that his grace in them may appear the more glorious…

Read the full comment on Exodus 4:10-17 →

Exodus 4:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֖אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
בִּ֣יbipardon meH994
אֲדֹנָ֑י'a.do.NaiO LordH136
שְֽׁלַֽח\־she.lach-sendH7971
נָ֖אna'pleaseH4994
בְּיַד\־be.yad-by [the] hand ofH3027
תִּשְׁלָֽח\׃tish.Lach[whoever] you will sendH7971

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 4:13

  • Jonah 1:3

    But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

  • Exodus 4:1

    And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

  • Ezekiel 3:14-15

    So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel–abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

  • Jonah 1:6

    So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

  • John 6:29

    Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

  • Genesis 48:16

    The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

  • Exodus 23:20

    Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

  • Matthew 13:41

    The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

  • Jeremiah 1:6

    Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

  • Jeremiah 20:9

    Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

  • Judges 2:1

    And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

  • 1 Kings 19:4

    But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
send.
1; 23:20; Ge 24:7; 48:16; Jud 2:1; 1Ki 19:4; Jer 1:6; 20:9
Eze 3:14,15; Jon 1:3,6; Mt 13:41; Joh 6:29
wilt send. or, shouldest.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 4:12

    Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

  • Exodus 4:13

    And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

  • Exodus 4:14

    And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

Read all of Exodus 4

Exodus 4:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y él dijo: ¡Ay Señor! envía por mano del que has de enviar.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il dit: Ah, Seigneur! envoie, je te prie, par celui que tu enverras.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und er sprach: Ach, Herr! Sende doch, durch wen du senden willst!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		At ille: Obsecro, inquit, Domine, mitte quem missurus es.