For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
Parallel translations
- WEB For if you refuse to let them go, and hold them still,
- BSB But if you continue to restrain them and refuse to let them go,
- NKJV For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them,
- NASB For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,
- NLT If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them 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
God warns that continued refusal will bring consequence. It highlights Pharaoh's freedom and accountability in resisting God.
Overview
The conditional 'if you refuse' shows that the coming plague follows Pharaoh's willful obstinacy, holding him morally responsible. Even amid God's sovereign purposes, Scripture presents Pharaoh as genuinely culpable for hardening himself. This tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility runs through the whole exodus account. The verse warns that persistent resistance to God invites judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Exod 8:2And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
- Ps 68:21But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.
- Rom 2:8But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
- 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.
- Isa 1:20But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
- Ps 7:11–12God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
- Rev 2:21–22And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
- Lev 26:23–24And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
- Rev 16:9And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
- Lev 26:14–16But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
- Lev 26:27–28And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
- Exod 10:4Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:
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 9:2 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.