But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel 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.
- BSB But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
- NKJV But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children 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 4:21Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.
- Exod 11:10Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go out of his land.
- Deut 2:30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Yahweh your God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as it is today.
- 2 Th 2:11–12Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie;
- Exod 9:12Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.
- Exod 7:13–14Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.
- John 12:39–40For this cause they couldn’t believe, for Isaiah said again,
- Rom 9:18So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.
- Isa 6:9–10He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand; and you see indeed, but don’t perceive.’
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.