Exodus 4:8
in Exodus 4And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
KJV
And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
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This verse in Exodus 4
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the voice of the first sign
on Exodus 4:8-9
The signs are given as a graded series against unbelief, each one held in reserve for the case where the one before it fails. The third is never performed here, and it is the only one that touches Egypt's own river, poured out on dry ground where anyone can watch it. It becomes the first plague at Exodus 7:20, where the water is struck in the river itself instead of being carried out of it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
If they will not believe - the voice of the first sign, etc. - Probably intimating that some would be more difficult to be persuaded than others: some would yield to the evidence of the first miracle; others would hesitate till they had seen the second; and others would not believe till they had seen the water of the Nile turned into blood, when poured upon the dry land; Exo 4:9.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַאֲמִ֣ינוּ | yaaminu | they will believe | H539 → | 106 times |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | <to> <the> you | ||
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשְׁמְע֔וּ | yishmeu | they will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| לְקֹ֖ל | lekol | to [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| הָאֹ֣ת | haot | the sign | H226 → | 80 times |
| הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן | harishon | <the> former | H7223 → | 182 times |
| וְהֶֽאֱמִ֔ינוּ | veheeminu | and they will believe | H539 → | 106 times |
| לְקֹ֖ל | lekol | <to> [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| הָאֹ֥ת | haot | the sign | H226 → | 80 times |
| הָאַחֲרֽוֹן׃ | haacharon | <the> latter | H314 → |
וְהָיָה֙and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַאֲמִ֣ינוּthey will believe
yaaminuH539 →106 times
לָ֔ךְ<to> <the> you
lakh
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִשְׁמְע֔וּthey will listen
yishmeuH8085 →1159 times
לְקֹ֖לto [the] voice of
lekolH6963 →506 times
הָאֹ֣תthe sign
haotH226 →80 times
הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן<the> former
harishonH7223 →182 times
וְהֶֽאֱמִ֔ינוּand they will believe
veheeminuH539 →106 times
לְקֹ֖ל<to> [the] voice of
lekolH6963 →506 times
הָאֹ֥תthe sign
haotH226 →80 times
הָאַחֲרֽוֹן׃<the> latter
haacharonH314 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 32:39See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:6
The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 6:1
Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 5:18
For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
- Isaiah 45:5
I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- 1 Samuel 2:6
Through
Job 5:18For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:39
See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 30:26
The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the LORD binds…
- Psalms 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
- Deuteronomy 32:39
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.