But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
Parallel translations
- WEB But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he wouldn’t let them go.
- BSB But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.
- NKJV But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
- NASB But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.
- NLT But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them 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 would not let them go. Pharaoh again refuses under God's sovereign hand.
Overview
The refrain of God's hardening recurs, framing Pharaoh's refusal within the divine plan. Pharaoh rejects Moses' insistence on full obedience, clinging to his resistance. The repeated hardening and refusal heighten the tension before the final plague. It confirms that only the ultimate judgment will break Egypt's grip on Israel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Exod 10:20But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
- Exod 4:21And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
- Exod 14:8And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
- Exod 14:4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
- Rev 9:20And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
- Rev 16:10–11And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
- Exod 10:1And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him:
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 10:27 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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