Deuteronomy 3:24
אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה אַתָּה הַֽחִלּוֹתָ לְהַרְאוֹת אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ אֶת־גָּדְלְךָ וְאֶת־יָדְךָ הַחֲזָקָה אֲשֶׁר מִי־אֵל בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂה כְמַעֲשֶׂיךָ וְכִגְבוּרֹתֶֽךָ׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֗ה אַתָּ֤ה הַֽחִלּ֙וֹתָ֙ לְהַרְא֣וֹת אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶ֨ת־גָּדְלְךָ֔ וְאֶת־יָדְךָ֖ הַחֲזָקָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר מִי־אֵל֙ בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם וּבָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה כְמַעֲשֶׂ֖יךָ וְכִגְבוּרֹתֶֽךָ׃
Κύριε ὁ θεός, σὺ ἤρξω δεῖξαι τῷ σῷ θεράποντι τὴν ἰσχύν σου καὶ τὴν δύναμίν γάρ ἐστιν θεὸς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἢ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅστις ποιήσει καθὰ σὺ ἐποίησας καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἰσχύν σου ;
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Domine Deus, tu cœpisti ostendere servo tuo magnitudinem tuam, manumque fortissimam: neque enim est alius deus vel in cælo, vel in terra, qui possit facere opera tua, et comparari fortitudini tuæ.
“Señor Yehová, has comenzado a mostrarle a tu siervo tu grandeza y tu mano fuerte. Porque ¿qué dios hay en el cielo o en la tierra que pueda hacer obras como las tuyas, y actos poderosos como los tuyos?
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Señor Jehová, tú has comenzado á mostrar á tu siervo tu grandeza, y tu mano fuerte: porque ¿ qué dios hay en el cielo ni en la tierra que haga según tus obras, y según tus valentías?
“ O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your greatness and power to Your servant. For what god in heaven or on earth can perform such works and mighty acts as Yours?
✦ What the text says
Summary
Moses addresses 'Adonai ("O Lord", H0136) Yehovah (H3069) directly, declaring that God has begun to show him His greatness and strong hand. He then poses a rhetorical question asking what god in heaven or on earth could perform deeds comparable to His works and mighty acts.
Key words
- ha.chi.Lo.ta ("you have begun", H2490C) — Hiphil perfect, second person masculine: a causative completed action, marking the start of a process (God causing something to begin).
- har.'ot ("show", H7200G) — Hiphil infinitive construct, dependent on the preceding verb via le ("to", H9005); expresses purpose/continuation — "to show/cause to see."
- ga.de.le.kha ("your greatness", H1433 + H9021) — noun in construct form with pronominal suffix, tightly bound to the addressee (Yehovah).
- mi-'el ("who [is] god?", H4310 + H0410G) — interrogative pronoun joined to the noun "god," forming a rhetorical question embedded within the relative clause.
- ya.'a.Seh ("he will do", H6213A) — Qal imperfect, third person masculine singular, denoting an ongoing or future potential action ("who could do/would do").
What the text says
The verse opens with a double divine address, 'Adonai ("O Lord", H0136) followed by Yehovah (H3069), both title and name placed together before the second-person pronoun 'atah ("you", H0859A). This pronoun is emphatic, since the verb ha.chi.Lo.ta already carries the second-person subject; its separate appearance in the Hebrew text underscores the addressee. The main clause uses the Hiphil perfect ha.chi.Lo.ta ("you have begun") paired with the Hiphil infinitive har.'ot ("to show"), a common Hebrew construction where a finite verb of beginning is followed by an infinitive expressing the action begun.
The object of the showing is marked twice by the untranslated direct object marker 'et (H0853): first "your servant" ('av.de.kha, H5650+H9021), then "your greatness" (ga.de.le.kha) and "your strong hand" (ya.de.kha ha.cha.za.Kah, H3027H+H2389). The adjective cha.za.Kah ("strong") agrees in feminine gender with yad ("hand"), a common gender noun here treated as feminine.
The second half forms a rhetorical question introduced by 'a.Sher ("that/who", H0834A) functioning here as a connector leading into mi-'el ("who [is] god?"), asking what deity in ba.sha.Ma.yim ("in the heavens", H8064) or va.'A.retz ("on the earth", H0776G) could perform (ya.'a.Seh, Qal imperfect) deeds like "your works" (ma.'a.Sei.kha, H4639G+H9021) and "your mighty deeds" (g.vu.ro.Te.kha, H1369+H9021). The repeated possessive suffixes -kha ("your") throughout reinforce that every noun of power and action is attributed directly to the addressee.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders the divine address as Κύριε ὁ θεός ("Lord God"), collapsing the two Hebrew terms 'Adonai and Yehovah into a single Greek pairing, and translates yad chazakah ("strong hand") more abstractly as τὴν ἰσχύν ("the strength/power") rather than a literal "hand." The Vulgate keeps manumque fortissimam ("and a most mighty hand"), closer to the Hebrew imagery of a hand. In the rhetorical question, the LXX phrases it as ὅστις ποιήσει καθὰ σὺ ἐποίησας ("who will do as you have done"), shifting from the Hebrew's comparison with "your works and mighty acts" to a direct comparison with prior divine action already completed.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.