And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon 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.
- BSB The magicians could not stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and on 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 47:12–14Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
- 2 Tim 3:8–9Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
- Exod 7:11–12Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
- Rev 16:2And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
- Exod 8:18–19And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
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 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.