But Moses replied to ¹  the Lord, “If the Israelites did not listen to me, then ²  how will Pharaoh listen to me, since ³  I speak with difficulty?” ⁴ 

biblegateway Exo 6:12

But Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?"

But Moses said in the LORD's presence: "If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?"

But Moses protested to the LORD, "The Israelites wouldn’t listen to me. Why would Pharaoh listen to me? I’m such a poor speaker."

biblegateway Exo 6:12

But Moses said to the LORD, "If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?"

But Moses said to the LORD, "Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"

bibleoremus Exo 6:12

But Moses spoke to the LORD, "The Israelites have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?"

Moses protested to the LORD, “If the Israelites do not listen to me, how will Pharaoh listen to such a halting speaker as me?”

biblegateway Exo 6:12

And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"

And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who [am] of uncircumcised lips?

biblegateway Exo 6:12

But Moses replied to ¹  the Lord, “If the Israelites did not listen to me, then ²  how will Pharaoh listen to me, since ³  I speak with difficulty?” ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “And Moses spoke before.”

² sn This analogy is an example of a qal wahomer comparison. It is an argument by inference from the light (qal) to the heavy (homer), from the simple to the more difficult. If the Israelites, who are Yahwists, would not listen to him, it is highly unlikely Pharaoh would.

³ tn The final clause begins with a disjunctive vav (ו), a vav on a nonverb form – here a pronoun. It introduces a circumstantial causal clause.

⁴ tn Heb “and [since] I am of uncircumcised lips.” The “lips” represent his speech (metonymy of cause). The term “uncircumcised” makes a comparison between his speech and that which Israel perceived as unacceptable, unprepared, foreign, and of no use to God. The heart is described this way when it is impervious to good impressions (Lev 26:41; Jer 9:26) and the ear when it hears imperfectly (Jer 6:10). Moses has here returned to his earlier claim – he does not speak well enough to be doing this.