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.”
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.”
- KJV 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.
- 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.”
- 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 3:19I know that the king of Egypt won’t give you permission to go, no, not by a mighty hand.
- Job 21:15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What profit should we have, if we pray to him?’
- 2 Kgs 18:35Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”
- Rom 1:28Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
- 2 Th 1:8giving vengeance to those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus,
- John 16:3They will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
- 2 Chr 32:15Now therefore don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you in this way. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand?”
- 2 Chr 32:19They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.
- Ps 12:4who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”
- Ps 10:4The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God.
- 1 Sam 2:12Now the sons of Eli were wicked men. They didn’t know Yahweh.
- Ps 14:1For the Chief Musician. By David. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good.
- Jer 44:16–17“As for the word that you have spoken to us in Yahweh’s name, we will not listen to you.
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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
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.