Exodus 4:15-16

4:15 “So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And as for me, I will be with your mouth ¹  and with his mouth, ²  and I will teach you both ³  what you must do. ⁴  4:16 He ⁵  will speak for you to the people, and it will be as if ⁶  he ⁷  were your mouth ⁸  and as if you were his God. ⁹ 

[4:15]  ¹ tn Or “I will help you speak.” The independent pronoun puts emphasis (“as for me”) on the subject (“I”).

[4:15]  ² tn Or “and will help him speak.”

[4:15]  ³ tn The word “both” is supplied to convey that this object (“you”) and the subject of the next verb (“you must do”) are plural in the Hebrew text, referring to Moses and Aaron. In 4:16 “you” returns to being singular in reference to Moses.

[4:15]  ⁴ tn The imperfect tense carries the obligatory nuance here as well. The relative pronoun with this verb forms a noun clause functioning as the direct object of “I will teach.”

[4:16]  ⁵ tn The word “he” represents the Hebrew independent pronoun, which makes the subject emphatic.

[4:16]  ⁶ tn The phrase “as if” is supplied for clarity.

[4:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it will be [that] he, he will be to you for a mouth,” or more simply, “he will be your mouth.”

[4:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “he will be to you for a mouth.”

[4:16]  ⁹ tn The phrase “as if” is supplied for clarity. The word “you” represents the Hebrew independent pronoun, which makes the subject emphatic.