Exodus 3:19
in Exodus 3But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, no, not by a mighty hand.
KJV
And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
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This verse in Exodus 3
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHe said to Moses, "Go and speak to Pharaoh, that he may let my people go, but I know that he will not let them go.…" He manifests his divinity by foreseeing what is to happen and also his love for man by offering to the free will of man an opportunity to repent.
This site's exposition
The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us
on Exodus 3:18-19
The request Moses is told to put to Pharaoh is worship, three days out into the wilderness to sacrifice, and the contest of chapters 5 to 12 turns on that one word. Pharaoh's later offers each try to keep a piece of it, sacrifice inside the land at 8:25, only the men at 10:11, and the flocks and herds left behind at 10:24, and Moses refuses every one. God tells Moses in advance that the king of Egypt will refuse, so the failure of chapter 5 arrives already announced.
This site's exposition
unless a mighty hand compels him
God tells Moses in advance that Pharaoh will refuse unless a mighty hand compels him. The warning prepares Moses for the resistance of chapters 5 to 12. Albert Barnes records two readings, one that Pharaoh yields only to force and one that he refuses even when struck. Clement of Alexandria sees in the verse both God's foreknowledge and His offer of repentance to Pharaoh.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go,....
And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. The years of the life of Moses are remarkably divided into three forties: the first forty he spent as a prince in Pharaoh's court, the second a shepherd in Midian, the third a king in Jeshurun; so changeable is the life of men, especially the life of good men.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
No, not - See the marginal rendering. Others explain it to mean, Pharaoh will not let the people go even when severely smitten.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But he evinced great reluctance to it and stated a variety of objections [Ex 3:11, 13; 4:1, 10] all of which were successfully met and removed--and the happy issue of his labors was minutely described.
I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand - When the facts detailed in this history have been considered in connection with the assertion as it stands in our Bibles, the most palpable contradiction has appeared. That the king of Egypt did let them go, and that by a mighty hand, the book itself amply declares. We should therefore seek for another meaning of the original word. ולא velo, which generally means and not, has sometimes the meaning of if not, unless, except, etc.; and in Becke’s Bible, 1549, it is thus translated: I am sure that the kyng of Egypt wyl not let you go, Except wyth a mighty hand. This import of the negative particle, which is noticed by Noldius, Heb. Part., p. 328, was perfectly understood by the Vulgate, where it is translated nisi, unless; and the Septuagint in their εαν μη, which is of the same import; and so also the Coptic. The meaning therefore is very plain: The king of Egypt, who now profits much by your servitude, will not let you go till he sees my hand stretched out, and he and his nation be smitten with ten plagues. Hence God immediately adds, Exo 3:20: I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders - and after that, he will let you go.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲנִ֣י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יָדַ֔עְתִּי | yada'ti | I know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֠י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִתֵּ֥ן | yiten | he will permit | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֛ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לַהֲלֹ֑ךְ | lahalokh | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְלֹ֖א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְּיָ֥ד | beyad | by a hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| חֲזָקָֽה׃ | chazakah | strong | H2389 → | 56 times |
וַאֲנִ֣יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
יָדַ֔עְתִּיI know
yada'tiH3045 →945 times
כִּ֠יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִתֵּ֥ןhe will permit
yitenH5414 →2011 times
אֶתְכֶ֛ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לַהֲלֹ֑ךְto go
lahalokhH1980 →1546 times
וְלֹ֖אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
בְּיָ֥דby a hand
beyadH3027 →1618 times
חֲזָקָֽה׃strong
chazakahH2389 →56 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
Exodus 6:1But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he…
it leads to
- Exodus 12:33
And in order to send them out of the land quickly, the Egyptians urged the people on. “For otherwise,” they said, “we are all going to die!”
- Exodus 12:31
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.
- Exodus 12:39
Since their dough had no leaven, the people baked what they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves. For when they had been driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had…
- Psalms 136:12
with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. His loving devotion endures forever.
- Exodus 3:19–20
But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.
- Exodus 12:33
Through
Exodus 5:2But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
it leads to
- Job 21:15
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
- 2 Kings 18:35
Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8
in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- Job 21:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 1; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.