⁶ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”^(A)

¹² But Moses spoke to the Lord, “The Israelites have not listened to me; why should Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?”^[a]

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”^{(A) 11} Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?^{(B) 12} Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.”^{(C) 13} But he said, “O my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, “What of your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know that he can speak well; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad.^{(D) 15} You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what you shall do.^{(E) 16} He indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him.

¹⁷ “Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.^(A)

⁷ And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.^{(A) 8} And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.^{(B) 9} Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil, for who can govern this great people of yours?”^(C)

³⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I am a poor speaker,^[a] why should Pharaoh listen to me?”^(A)

Denunciation of Lying Prophets

¹³ Then I said: “Ah, Lord God! Here are the prophets saying to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you true peace in this place.’ ”^(A)

Moses’s Miraculous Power

4 Then Moses answered, “But look, they may not believe me or listen to me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ”^(A)

¹⁰ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, how utterly you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ even while the sword is at the throat!”^(A)

⁵ And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”^(A)