I commanded you, “Let my son go, so he can worship me.” But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!’”
Parallel translations
- WEB and I have said to you, “Let my son go, that he may serve me”; and you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.’”
- KJV And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
- BSB and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”
- NKJV So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”
- NASB So I said to you, ‘Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”
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
Because Pharaoh refuses to release God's firstborn son, God warns He will kill Pharaoh's firstborn. The demand and the threatened judgment foreshadow the final plague.
Overview
God's message moves from claim to consequence: refusal to free His son will cost Pharaoh his own. This pronouncement looks ahead to the tenth plague and the Passover, where the firstborn of Egypt die and Israel is spared. The pattern of a firstborn given up points forward to the cross, where God's own firstborn Son is given so that His people might live.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Exod 11:5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of livestock.
- Exod 12:29At midnight, Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of livestock.
- Ps 135:8Who struck the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and animal;
- Ps 105:36He struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood.
- Ps 78:51and struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.
- Exod 5:1Afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said to Pharaoh, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’”
- Exod 7:16You shall tell him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness:” and behold, until now you haven’t listened.
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 4:23 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.