Exodus 4:4
New International Version
Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

New Living Translation
Then the LORD told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.

English Standard Version
But the LORD said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—

Berean Standard Bible
“Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

King James Bible
And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

New King James Version
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand),

New American Standard Bible
But the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he reached out with his hand and caught it, and it turned into a staff in his hand—

NASB 1995
But the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail “— so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—

NASB 1977
But the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—

Legacy Standard Bible
And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand—

Amplified Bible
But the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and grasp it by the tail.” So he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—

Christian Standard Bible
The LORD told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
but the LORD told him, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. “

American Standard Version
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail: (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand);

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And LORD JEHOVAH said to Moshe, “Reach your hand and hold it by its tail”, and he reached his hand and held firmly on it and it was a staff in his hand:

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth thine hand, and take hold of its tail: so he stretched forth his hand and took hold of the tail,

Contemporary English Version
"Pick it up by the tail!" the LORD told him. And when Moses did this, the snake turned back into a walking stick.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord said: Put out thy hand and take it by the tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod.

English Revised Version
And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail: (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand:)

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out and grab the snake by its tail." He reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a staff as he held it.

Good News Translation
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach down and pick it up by the tail." So Moses reached down and caught it, and it became a walking stick again.

International Standard Version
Then God told Moses, "Reach out and grab its tail." So he reached out, grabbed it, and it became a staff in his hand.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail--and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand--

Literal Standard Version
And YHWH says to Moses, “Put forth your hand, and lay hold on the tail of it”; and he puts forth his hand, and lays hold on it, and it becomes a rod in his hand—

Majority Standard Bible
“Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

New American Bible
Then the LORD said to Moses: Now stretch out your hand and take hold of its tail. So he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand.

NET Bible
But the LORD said to Moses, "Put out your hand and grab it by the tail"--so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand--

New Revised Standard Version
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand, and seize it by the tail”—so he reached out his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand—

New Heart English Bible
The LORD said to Moses, "Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail." He put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD said to Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

World English Bible
Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand, and take it by the tail.” He stretched out his hand, and took hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand.

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Put forth thy hand, and lay hold on the tail of it;' and he putteth forth his hand, and layeth hold on it, and it becometh a rod in his hand --

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Moses' Staff
3“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4“Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5“This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”…

Cross References
Exodus 4:3
"Throw it on the ground," said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.

Exodus 4:5
"This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob--has appeared to you."


Treasury of Scripture

And the LORD said to Moses, Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

put forth.

Genesis 22:1,2
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am

Psalm 91:13
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Mark 16:18
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

and he put.

John 2:5
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

Jump to Previous
Caught Forth Grasp Grip Hand Hold Laid Moses Putteth Reach Reached Rod Snake Staff Stretch Stretched Tail Turned
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Caught Forth Grasp Grip Hand Hold Laid Moses Putteth Reach Reached Rod Snake Staff Stretch Stretched Tail Turned
Exodus 4
1. Moses's rod is turned into a serpent.
6. His hand is leprous.
10. He loathes his calling.
13. Aaron is appointed to assist him.
18. Moses departs from Jethro.
21. God's message to Pharaoh.
24. Zipporah circumcises her son.
27. Aaron is sent to meet Moses.
29. The people believe them.














(4) Take it by the tail.--Those who venture to handle poisonous snakes, like the modern Egyptians and the inhabitants of the coast of Barbary, generally take hold of them by the neck, in which case they are unable to bite. To test the faith and courage of Moses, the command is given him to lay hold of this serpent "by the tail."

He put forth his hand.--Faith triumphed over instinct. Moses had "fled from" the snake when first he saw it (Exodus 4:3). Now he is daring enough to stoop down, put his hand on the creature's tail, and so lift it up.

It became a rod.--Its real nature returned to it. Once more it was, not a stiffened serpent, but an actual staff, or walking-stick.

Verse 4. - By the tail. A snake-charmer will usually take up his serpents by the neck, so that they may not be able to bite him. Moses was bidden to show his trust in God by taking up his serpent by the tail. His courage, as well as his faith, is shown in his ready obedience. It became a rod. A veritable rod once more, not a mere stiffened snake like the "rods" of the magicians (Exodus 7:12)

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Stretch out
שְׁלַח֙ (šə·laḥ)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

your hand
יָֽדְךָ֔ (yā·ḏə·ḵā)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

and grab it
וֶאֱחֹ֖ז (we·’ĕ·ḥōz)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 270: To grasp, take hold, take possession

by the tail,”
בִּזְנָב֑וֹ (biz·nā·ḇōw)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2180: Tail, end, stump

the LORD
יְהוָה֙ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

said
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Moses.
מֹשֶׁ֔ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

So he reached out
וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח (way·yiš·laḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

his hand
יָדוֹ֙ (yā·ḏōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

and caught
וַיַּ֣חֲזֶק (way·ya·ḥă·zeq)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2388: To fasten upon, to seize, be strong, obstinate, to bind, restrain, conquer

[the snake],
בּ֔וֹ (bōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

and it turned back
וַיְהִ֥י (way·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

into a staff
לְמַטֶּ֖ה (lə·maṭ·ṭeh)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4294: A staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe

in his hand.
בְּכַפּֽוֹ׃ (bə·ḵap·pōw)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3709: Hollow or flat of the hand, palm, sole (of the foot), a pan


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OT Law: Exodus 4:4 Yahweh said to Moses Put forth your (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 4:3
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