Exodus 4:9

4:9 And if ¹  they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you, ²  then take ³  some water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground. The water you take out of the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” ⁴ 

Exodus 19:16

19:16 On ⁵  the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense ⁶  cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud ⁷  horn; ⁸  all the people who were in the camp trembled.

[4:9]  ¹ tn Heb “and it will be if.”

[4:9]  ² tn Heb “listen to your voice.”

[4:9]  ³ tn The verb form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it functions then as the equivalent of the imperfect tense – here as an imperfect of instruction.

[4:9]  ⁴ sn This is a powerful sign, for the Nile was always known as the source of life in Egypt, but now it will become the evidence of death. So the three signs were alike, each consisting of life and death. They would clearly anticipate the struggle with Egypt through the plagues. The point is clear that in the face of the possibility that people might not believe, the servants of God must offer clear proof of the power of God as they deliver the message of God. The rest is up to God.

[19:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “and it was on.”

[19:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “heavy” (כָּבֵד, kaved).

[19:16]  ⁷ tn Literally “strong” (חָזָק, khazaq).

[19:16]  ⁸ tn The word here is שֹׁפָר (shofar), the normal word for “horn.” This word is used especially to announce something important in a public event (see 1 Kgs 1:34; 2 Sam 6:15). The previous word used in the context (v. 16) was יֹבֵל (yovel, “ram’s horn”).