But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
Parallel translations
- WEB But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go.
- KJV But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
- NKJV But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
- NASB But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
- NLT But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart and he refused to release Israel. God's sovereign purpose continues to unfold.
Overview
Once relief came, Pharaoh again refused, with the text attributing the hardening to God. This restates the theme that Pharaoh's resistance serves God's plan to display his power. Divine hardening and human stubbornness remain held together throughout the account. The continued refusal moves the narrative toward the climactic plagues of darkness and the firstborn.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Exod 4:21The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
- Exod 11:10Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.
- Deut 2:30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day.
- 2 Th 2:11–12For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie,
- Exod 9:12But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.
- Exod 7:13–14Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
- John 12:39–40For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says:
- Rom 9:18Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
- Isa 6:9–10And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 10:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.