Pharaoh sent officials and found that none of the livestock of the Israelites had died. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not let the people go.
Parallel translations
- WEB Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, and he didn’t let the people go.
- KJV And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
- NKJV Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.
- NASB And Pharaoh sent men, and they learned that, behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
- NLT Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn, and he still refused to let the people 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
Pharaoh investigates, finds Israel's livestock untouched, yet remains stubborn. Even clear evidence does not soften a hardened heart.
Overview
Pharaoh's inquiry shows he recognized the distinction yet refused to yield, exposing the willful nature of his hardness. This is the first explicit note that Pharaoh's own heart, not God's action alone, kept him resistant in this episode. Unbelief is not finally a matter of insufficient proof but of a hardened will. The passage warns that the heart can resist God against all evidence, a sober picture of sin's grip apart from grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Exod 7:14Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
- Exod 8:32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well, and he would not let the people go.
- Exod 9:12But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.
- Rom 9:18Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
- Isa 48:4For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.
- Dan 5:20But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.
- Prov 29:1A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- Job 9:4God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?
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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 9:7 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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