And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”
- BSB But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”
- NKJV And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”
- NASB And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”
- NLT And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God tells Moses to take the staff in his hand to perform the signs. The commissioning closes with the instrument by which God's power will be displayed.
Overview
The dialogue ends as it began, with the rod in Moses' hand, now designated the means of working God's wonders. This ordinary staff becomes 'the rod of God,' a token that the power is the Lord's, channeled through His obedient servant. The signs to come will vindicate God's name before Egypt and Israel, all carried out through this simple, surrendered instrument.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Exod 4:2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
- 1 Cor 1:27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
- Exod 7:9–20When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 4:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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