Christian Standard Bible
Exodus 11:5
5and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.
Exodus 11:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
- New International Version (NIV)Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
- New King James Version (NKJV)and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals.
Context of Exodus 11:5
3The Lord gave the people favor with the Egyptians. In addition, Moses himself was very highly regarded in the land of Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and the people. 4So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock. 6Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before or ever will be again. 7But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
Read all of Exodus 11Exodus 11:5 word by word
וּמֵ֣ת כָּל־בְּכוֹר֮ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַיִם֒ מִבְּכ֤וֹר פַּרְעֹה֙ הַיֹּשֵׁ֣ב עַל־כִּסְא֔וֹ עַ֚ד בְּכ֣וֹר הַשִּׁפְחָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר אַחַ֣ר הָרֵחָ֑יִם וְכֹ֖ל בְּכ֥וֹר בְּהֵמָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And all the firstbornבְּכוֹרbekôr · firstbornH1060
- in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- shall dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- of Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
- that sittethיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- upon his throneכִּסֵּאkissê' kissêh · throneH3678
- of the maidservantשִׁפְחָהshiphchâh · maidservantH8198
- behindאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- the millרֵחֶהrêcheh · millstoneH7347
- of beastsבְּהֵמָהbehêmâh · animalH929
Cross-references for Exodus 11:5
- Exodus 4:23I told you: Let my son go so that he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. Look, I am about to kill your firstborn son!”
- Exodus 12:12“I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.
- Exodus 13:15When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’
- Psalms 78:51He struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the first progeny of the tents of Ham.
- Psalms 105:36He struck all the firstborn in their land, all their first progeny.
- Psalms 135:8He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both people and animals.
- Psalms 136:10He struck the firstborn of the Egyptians His faithful love endures forever.
- Hebrews 11:28By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites.
- Judges 16:21The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, and he was forced to grind grain in the prison.
- Isaiah 47:2Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil, strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, wade through the streams.
- Lamentations 5:13Young men labor at millstones; boys stumble under loads of wood.
- Matthew 24:41Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; one will be taken and one left.
Commentaries on Exodus 11:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The first-born of Pharaoh, etc. - From the heir to the Egyptian throne to the son of the most abject slave, or the principal person in each family. See Clarke's note on Exodus 12:29. The maid-servant that is behind the mill - The meanest slaves were employed in this work. In many parts of the east they still grind all their corn with a kind of portable mill-stones, the upper one of which is turned round by a sort of lever fixed in the rim. A drawing of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Two points are to be noticed: 1. The extent of the visitation: the whole land suffers in the persons of its firstborn, not merely for the guilt of the sovereign, but for the actual participation of the people in the crime of infanticide Exodus 1:22. 2. The limitation: Pharaoh‘s command had been to slay ALL the male children of the Israelites, but only one child in each Egyptian family was to die. If Tothmosis II was the Pharaoh, the visitation fell with…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-10Verses 4-10 The death of all the first-born in Egypt at once: this plague had been the first threatened, but is last executed. See how slow God is to wrath. The plague is foretold, the time is fixed; all their first-born should sleep the sleep of death, not silently, but so as to rouse the families at midnight. The prince was not too high to be reached by it, nor the slaves at the mill too low to be noticed. While angels slew the Egyptians, not so much as…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5In many parts of the world, people look to their children for survival. In many cultures, the firstborn son carries on the family line. If people have children, they may feel secure. They may believe that, even after they die, they will continue through their children. When the Egyptian firstborn sons died, God showed that people cannot guarantee their own survival. Life is a gift. That gift is in the hand of the one Lord, the "I Am."Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. And all the first-born in the land ... shall die--The time, the suddenness, the dreadful severity of this coming calamity, and the peculiar description of victims, among both men and beasts, on whom it was to fall, would all contribute to aggravate its character. the maid-servant that is behind the mill--The grinding of the meal for daily use in every household is commonly done by female slaves and is considered the lowest employment. Two portable…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 11:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 11
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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