The magicians could not stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and on all the Egyptians.
Parallel translations
- WEB The magicians couldn’t stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the magicians, and on all the Egyptians.
- KJV And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.
- NKJV And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.
- NASB The soothsayer priests could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the soothsayer priests as well as on all the Egyptians.
- NLT Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and all the Egyptians.
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
Even Pharaoh's magicians cannot stand because they too are covered in boils. Egypt's wise men are decisively defeated.
Overview
Earlier the magicians had imitated some signs, but now they cannot even appear before Moses, marking the collapse of Egypt's spiritual resistance. Their affliction shows that the powers Egypt trusted are themselves under God's judgment. This is the turning point where human and demonic counterfeit gives way before the true God. It illustrates that no rival power can ultimately stand against the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Isa 47:12–14So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!
- 2 Tim 3:8–9Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.
- Exod 7:11–12But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.
- Rev 16:2So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and loathsome, malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
- Exod 8:18–19The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.
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 9:11 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.