And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
Parallel translations
- WEB Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go? I don’t know Yahweh, and moreover I will not let Israel go.”
- BSB But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
- NKJV And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”
- NASB But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
- NLT “Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel 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
Pharaoh dismisses the LORD, saying he does not know Him and will not obey. His defiant ignorance of God frames the whole contest of the plagues.
Overview
Pharaoh's response is open contempt: he neither knows nor will heed Yahweh, exalting himself above the God of Israel. This proud question, 'Who is Yahweh?', is precisely what the plagues will answer, for Egypt and Israel alike will come to know who the LORD is. Pharaoh's hardness exposes the human heart's resistance to God's rule and the need for God to make Himself known by mighty acts.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Exod 3:19And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
- Job 21:15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
- 2 Kgs 18:35Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?
- Rom 1:28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
- 2 Th 1:8In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
- John 16:3And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
- 2 Chr 32:15Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?
- 2 Chr 32:19And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.
- Ps 12:4Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
- Ps 10:4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
- 1 Sam 2:12Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
- Ps 14:1The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
- Jer 44:16–17As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
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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 5:2 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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