Exodus 4:21

Exodus 4:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

Context of Exodus 4:21

19And Jehovah said to Moses in Midian, Go, return to Egypt; for all the men are dead who sought thy life. 20And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them riding upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand. And Jehovah said to Moses, When thou goest to return to Egypt, see that thou do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put in thy hand. And I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. 22And thou shalt say to Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah: Israel is my son, my firstborn. 23And I say to thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

Exodus 4:21 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָה֮ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה֒ בְּלֶכְתְּךָ֙ לָשׁ֣וּב מִצְרַ֔יְמָה רְאֵ֗ה כָּל־הַמֹּֽפְתִים֙ אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֣מְתִּי בְיָדֶ֔ךָ וַעֲשִׂיתָ֖ם לִפְנֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֑ה וַאֲנִי֙ אֲחַזֵּ֣ק אֶת־לִבּ֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א יְשַׁלַּ֖ח אֶת־הָעָֽם׃Read the interlinear

• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• Whenאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• wondersמוֹפֵתmôphêth môphêth · wonderH4159
• Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• goשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: let goH7971

Cross-references for Exodus 4:21

• Exodus 3:20And I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof; and after that he will let you go.
• Exodus 7:3And I will render Pharaoh's heart obdurate, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
• Exodus 9:12And Jehovah made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he did not hearken to them, as Jehovah had told Moses.
• Exodus 10:1And Jehovah said to Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his bondmen, that I might do these my signs in their midst,
• Exodus 14:8And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; and the children of Israel had gone out with a high hand.
• Genesis 6:3And Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not always plead with Man; for he indeed is flesh; but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.
• Deuteronomy 2:30But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Jehovah thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obdurate, that he might give him into thy hand, as it is this day.
• Joshua 11:20For it was of Jehovah that their heart was hardened, to meet Israel in battle, that they might be utterly destroyed, and that there might be no favour shewn to them, but that they might be destroyed, as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
• 1 Kings 22:22And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice [him], and also succeed: go forth, and do so.
• Psalms 105:25He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
• Isaiah 6:10Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and healed.
• Isaiah 63:17Why, O Jehovah, hast thou made us to err from thy ways, hast hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
• John 12:40He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they may not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart and be converted, and I should heal them.
• Romans 1:28And according as they did not think good to have God in [their] knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind to practise unseemly things;
• Romans 9:18So then, to whom he will he shews mercy, and whom he will he hardens.
• Romans 11:8according as it is written, God has given to them a spirit of slumber, eyes not to see, and ears not to hear, unto this day.

Commentaries on Exodus 4:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21But I will harden his heart - The case of Pharaoh has given rise to many fierce controversies, and to several strange and conflicting opinions. Would men but look at the whole account without the medium of their respective creeds, they would find little difficulty to apprehend the truth. If we take up the subject in a theological point of view, all sober Christians will allow the truth of this proposition of St. Augustine, when the subject in question is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21I will harden - Calamities which do not subdue the heart harden it. In the case of Pharaoh, the hardening was at once a righteous judgment, and a natural result of a long series of oppressions and cruelties.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 After God had appeared in the bush, he often spake to Moses. Pharaoh had hardened his own heart against the groans and cries of the oppressed Israelites; and now God, in the way of righteous judgment, hardens his heart against the teaching of the miracles, and the terror of the plagues. But whether Pharaoh will hear, or whether he will forbear, Moses must tell him, Thus saith the Lord. He must demand a discharge for Israel, Let my son go; not…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-23These verses summarize the upcoming chapters. They start with the request to let the people go to worship God and end with the final plague, the death of the firstborn (5:3; 11:4–6). God was preparing the rescuer for the challenging task ahead (see 11:9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-311. But, behold--Hebrew, "If," "perhaps," "they will not believe me."--What evidence can I produce of my divine mission? There was still a want of full confidence, not in the character and divine power of his employer, but in His presence and power always accompanying him. He insinuated that his communication might be rejected and he himself treated as an impostor.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 4:21

• Heart
• Moses

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Moses
• Pharaoh
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Bosom
• Dead
• Leprous
• Slow
• Spokesman

Commentaries on Exodus 4

• 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