So Moses returned to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me?
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, “Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Why is it that you have sent me?
- KJV And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, LORD, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
- NKJV So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?
- NASB Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me?
- NLT Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me?
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
Moses returns to God and asks why He has brought trouble on the people and sent him at all. Even the prophet wrestles honestly with God in confusion.
Overview
Burdened by the people's worsened suffering and their blame, Moses turns to God with searching, even reproachful questions. His honest lament shows that faith can voice perplexity to God rather than abandon Him. Moses' wrestling models how God's servants may bring their bewilderment directly to the Lord, trusting Him even when His ways are not yet clear.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 20:7You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
- Num 11:14–15I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.
- 1 Kgs 19:10“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
- Num 11:11So Moses asked the LORD, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid upon me the burden of all these people?
- Exod 17:4Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? A little more and they will stone me!”
- Hab 2:3For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- Ps 73:25Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.
- 1 Kgs 19:4while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
- 1 Sam 30:6And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
- Jer 12:1Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
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 5:22 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.