Exodus 11:6
in Exodus 11Then a great cry will go out over all the land of Egypt. Such an outcry has never been heard before and will never be heard again.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath not been, nor shall be any more.
KJV
And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
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This verse in Exodus 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
there shall be a great cry throughout all the land
on Exodus 11:6-7
The cry that goes up in Egypt answers the cry that went up from Israel at 2:23, where the people cried by reason of the bondage and their cry came up unto God, and 12:30 reports it fallen. Against Israel not a dog moves his tongue, which Adam Clarke reads as a proverb for going out without so much as a disturbance. The difference named here is the fifth the plagues have drawn, after the division at 8:23, the severing of the cattle at 9:4, the hail that missed Goshen at 9:26 and the light in Israel's dwellings at 10:23. Chapter 12 says what makes the difference on this particular night, and it is blood on a doorpost rather than descent.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt,....
The time is fixed--about midnight, the very next midnight, the dead time of the night; when they were all asleep, all their first-born should sleep the sleep of death, not silently and insensibly, so as not to be discovered till morning, but so as to rouse the families at midnight to stand by and see them die. The extent of this plague is described,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shall be a great cry throughout all the land--In the case of a death, people in the East set up loud wailings, and imagination may conceive what "a great cry" would be raised when death would invade every family in the kingdom.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
There shall be a great cry - Of the dying and for the dead. See more on this subject, Exo 12:30 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Who is fit to sit upon Pharaoh’s throne after him. 22 Pharaoh’s first-born did not sit on the throne of Egypt, hence I.E.’s comment.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָֽיְתָ֛ה | vehayetah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| צְעָקָ֥ה | tzeakah | a cry | H6818 → | 21 times |
| גְדֹלָ֖ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּמֹ֙הוּ֙ | kamohu | like it | H3644 → | 143 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִהְיָ֔תָה | nihyatah | it has occurred | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| וְכָמֹ֖הוּ | vekhamohu | and like it | H3644 → | 143 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹסִֽף׃ | tosif | it will repeat | H3254 → | 212 times |
וְהָֽיְתָ֛הand it will be
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
צְעָקָ֥הa cry
tzeakahH6818 →21 times
גְדֹלָ֖הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כָּמֹ֙הוּ֙like it
kamohuH3644 →143 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נִהְיָ֔תָהit has occurred
nihyatahH1961 →3559 times
וְכָמֹ֖הוּand like it
vekhamohuH3644 →143 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֹסִֽף׃it will repeat
tosifH3254 →212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zephaniah 1:10On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 33:14
After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of…
- Amos 8:3
“In that day,” declares the Lord GOD, “the songs of the temple will turn to wailing. Many will be the corpses, strewn in silence everywhere!”
- 2 Kings 22:14
So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived…
- 2 Chronicles 33:14
Through
Luke 13:28There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.
it leads to
- Matthew 8:11–12
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 22:13
Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- Matthew 8:11–12
Through
Amos 5:17There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says the LORD.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:12
On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am…
- Jeremiah 48:33
Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard and from the fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; their shouts…
- Isaiah 16:10
Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses; I have put an end to the cheering.
- Exodus 12:12
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Sermon No. 305: Separating the Precious From the Vile; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.