And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.
- BSB Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
- NKJV So the Lord said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.
- NASB Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go.
- NLT Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn, and he still refuses to let the people 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 diagnoses Pharaoh's heart as stubborn and unwilling to release Israel. This sets up the first plague as God's response.
Overview
God names Pharaoh's condition plainly: his heart is heavy and resistant, refusing to let the people go. This assessment justifies the escalating judgments about to fall on Egypt. The verse shows that God sees the true state of the heart, a reminder that no rebellion is hidden from Him and that only His intervention can turn a hardened heart, as He does through the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Exod 10:27But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
- Exod 8:15But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
- Exod 10:20But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
- 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:
- Isa 1:20But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
- Exod 4:23And 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.
- Zech 7:12Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.
- Exod 9:2For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
- Heb 12:25See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
- Exod 8:2And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
- Exod 10:4Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:
- Jer 9:6Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.
- Jer 8:5Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 7:14 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.