But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
Parallel translations
- KJV But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
- BSB When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
- NKJV But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
- NASB But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
- NLT But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.
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
Once relieved, Pharaoh hardens his heart and breaks his promise. His pattern of false repentance reasserts itself.
Overview
The moment the pressure lifts, Pharaoh reneges and refuses to release Israel, just as God had said. His repentance under duress proves to be no repentance at all once the threat is gone. Pharaoh embodies the deceitfulness of a heart that seeks escape from judgment but not surrender to God, a sobering contrast to the genuine, lasting repentance worked by the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Eccl 8:11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
- Isa 26:10Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he will deal wrongfully, and will not see Yahweh’s majesty.
- Heb 3:15while it is said, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion.”
- Heb 3:8don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness,
- Exod 7:4But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring out my armies, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
- Jer 34:7–11when the king of Babylon’s army was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these alone remained of the cities of Judah as fortified cities.
- Exod 4:21Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.
- Exod 7:13–14Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.
- Exod 14:5The king of Egypt was told that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed towards the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”
- Zech 7:11–12But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
- Hos 6:4“Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears early.
- Prov 29:1He who is often rebuked and stiffens his neck will be destroyed suddenly, with no remedy.
- Rev 16:9People were scorched with great heat, and people blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They didn’t repent and give him glory.
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 8:15 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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