Christian Standard Bible
Exodus 5:2
2But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
Exodus 5:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.
- New International Version (NIV)Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”
Context of Exodus 5:2
1Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.” But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” 3They answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword.” 4The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor!”
Read all of Exodus 5Exodus 5:2 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר פַּרְעֹ֔ה מִ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶשְׁמַ֣ע בְּקֹל֔וֹ לְשַׁלַּ֖ח אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לֹ֤א יָדַ֙עְתִּי֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֔ה וְגַ֥ם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֹ֥א אֲשַׁלֵּֽחַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 5:2
- Exodus 3:19“However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, even under force from a strong hand.
- 2 Kings 18:35Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued his land from my power? So will the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’”
- 2 Chronicles 32:15So now, don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, and don’t let him mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. How much less will your God rescue you from my power! ’”
- Job 21:15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him, and what will we gain by pleading with him?”
- Psalms 10:4In all his scheming, the wicked person arrogantly thinks, “There’s no accountability, since there’s no God.”
- Psalms 12:4They say, “Through our tongues we have power; our lips are our own — who can be our master?”
- Psalms 14:1The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good.
- 1 Samuel 2:12Eli’s sons were wicked men; they did not respect the Lord
- John 16:3They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or me.
- Romans 1:28And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8when he takes vengeance with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- Jeremiah 44:16“As for the word you spoke to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you!
Commentaries on Exodus 5:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Who is the Lord - Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice? What claims has he on me? I am under no obligation to him. Pharaoh spoke here under the common persuasion that every place and people had a tutelary deity, and he supposed that this Jehovah might be the tutelary deity of the Israelites, to whom he, as an Egyptian, could be under no kind of obligation. It is not judicious to bring this question as a proof that Pharaoh was an atheist: of this…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2I know not the Lord - Either Pharaoh had not heard of Yahweh, or he did not recognize Him as a God.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Pharaoh quickly addressed the main issue. What god could be greater than Pharaoh? What god could make him do something against his will? This is a key question for all people. Is there anyone or anything more important than my own interests?Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord--rather "Jehovah." Lord was a common name applied to objects of worship; but Jehovah was a name he had never heard of. Pharaoh estimated the character and power of this God by the abject and miserable condition of the worshippers and concluded that He held as low a rank among the gods as His people did in the nation. To demonstrate the supremacy of the true God over all the gods of Egypt, was the design of the plagues…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 5:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 5
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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