Exodus 6:9

Exodus 6:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
• New International Version (NIV)Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.

Context of Exodus 6:9

7Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who redeemed you and brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel); and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord [you have the promise of My changeless omnipotence and faithfulness].’ ” Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their impatience and despondency, and because of their forced labor. 10The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11“Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

Exodus 6:9 word by word

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר מֹשֶׁ֛ה כֵּ֖ן אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• so unto the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• but they hearkenedשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• for anguishקֹ֫צֶרqôtser · shortnessH7115
• of spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
• and for cruelקָשֶׁהqâsheh · severeH7186
• bondageעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · serviceH5656

Cross-references for Exodus 6:9

• Exodus 5:21And the foremen said to them, “May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have made us odious (something hated) in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and you have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
• Exodus 14:12Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness.”
• Job 21:4As for me, is my complaint to man or about him? And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?
• Proverbs 14:19The evil will bow down before the good, And the wicked [will bow down] at the gates of the righteous.
• Numbers 21:4Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the [branch of the] Red Sea [called the Gulf of Aqabah], to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient, because [of the challenges] of the journey.

Commentaries on Exodus 6:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9But they hearkened not - Their bondage was become so extremely oppressive that they had lost all hope of ever being redeemed from it. After this verse the Samaritan adds, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians: for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. This appears to be borrowed from Exodus 14:12. Anguish of spirit - רוח קצר kotzer ruach, shortness of spirit or breath. The words signify that their…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9They hearkened not - The contrast between the reception of this communication and that recorded in Exodus 4:31 is accounted for by the change of circumstances. On the former occasion the people were comparatively at ease, accustomed to their lot, sufficiently afflicted to long for deliverance, and sufficiently free in spirit to hope for it. For anguish - See the margin; out of breath, as it were, after their cruel disappointment, they were quite absorbed…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9The crisis became worse because the people ignored the repeated promises. They had not anticipated that their initial faith would produce greater problems for them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-119-11. Moses spake so unto the children of Israel--The increased severities inflicted on the Israelites seem to have so entirely crushed their spirits, as well as irritated them, that they refused to listen to any more communications (Ex 14:12). Even the faith of Moses himself was faltering; and he would have abandoned the enterprise in despair had he not received a positive command from God to revisit the people without delay, and at the same time renew…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 6:9

• Despondency
• Moses

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Moses
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Anguish
• Groaning
• Rid
• Exodus, the Book of
• Feeble-Minded

Commentaries on Exodus 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings