But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB but indeed for this cause I have made you stand: to show you my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth;
- KJV And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
- NKJV But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.
- NASB But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth.
- NLT But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.
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
God explains he raised Pharaoh up to display his power and proclaim his name worldwide. Pharaoh's defiance is made to serve God's larger redemptive purpose.
Overview
This pivotal verse, quoted by Paul in Romans 9:17, reveals that even Pharaoh's resistance is bent toward the spread of God's renown. God sovereignly uses a rebellious ruler as the stage on which his power is displayed to all nations. The verse holds together God's freedom and the reality of human accountability without collapsing either. Ultimately God's name is declared throughout the earth most fully in the gospel of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Rom 9:17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
- Prov 16:4The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.
- Ps 83:17–18May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.
- Ps 64:9Then all mankind will fear and proclaim the work of God; so they will ponder what He has done.
- 1 Chr 16:24Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all peoples.
- Exod 14:4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.
- Exod 14:17And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen.
- Exod 18:11Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”
- Rom 9:22What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?
- Mal 1:11For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- 1 Pet 2:8and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
- Jude 1:4For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
- Ps 136:10–15He struck down the firstborn of Egypt His loving devotion endures forever.
- Mal 1:14“But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.
- Josh 2:10–11For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction.
- Isa 63:12–14who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown,
- Exod 15:11–16Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
- 1 Pet 2:19For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended.
- 1 Sam 4:8Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
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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 9:16 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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