Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the LORD. Even your little ones may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, “Go, serve Yahweh. Only let your flocks and your herds stay behind. Let your little ones also go with you.”
- KJV And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.
- NKJV Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.”
- NASB Then Pharaoh called for Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be left behind. Even your little ones may go with you.”
- NLT Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses. “Go and worship the Lord,” he said. “But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you.”
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
Pharaoh offers to let the people and children go but demands the livestock stay. He attempts yet another partial compromise.
Overview
Pharaoh now concedes more than before but still withholds the flocks and herds. Keeping the livestock would cripple Israel's worship and ensure economic dependence. The offer again exposes a pattern of yielding short of full obedience. God's claim on his people, including all they need for worship, will not be reduced.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Exod 10:8–10So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the LORD your God,” he said. “But who exactly will be going?”
- Exod 8:28Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”
- Exod 9:28Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”
- Gen 34:23Will not their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell among us.”
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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 10:24 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
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