EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Exodus 11:5
5I will cause all the firstborn sons in Egypt to die. The firstborn son of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, will die. The firstborn son of the female slave who makes flour, will die. Even the firstborn of the farm animals will die.
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 caused the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelite people. As for Moses himself, Pharaoh's officers and the Egyptian people respected him as an important man. 4So Moses went to the king and he said, ‘The Lord God says this: “At about midnight, I will travel through the whole country of Egypt. I will cause all the firstborn sons in Egypt to die. The firstborn son of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, will die. The firstborn son of the female slave who makes flour, will die. Even the firstborn of the farm animals will die. 6Everyone will be crying loudly in the whole country of Egypt. Nothing like that has ever happened before now, and it will never happen again. 7But no trouble will happen to the Israelite people. Not even a dog will frighten them or their animals. Then you will know that I, the Lord, make a difference 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 have already said to you, Let my son go so that he can worship me. But if you refuse to let him go, I will kill your first son.” ’
- Exodus 12:12On the night that you eat the Passover meal, I will travel through the country of Egypt. I will kill every firstborn son and every firstborn male animal. I will punish all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.
- Exodus 13:15Pharaoh refused to let us go. But the Lord killed all the firstborn sons in the country of Egypt. He killed all the firstborn males, both people and animals. That is why I offer all the firstborn male animals as a sacrifice to the Lord. But for each of my firstborn sons, I give an animal to God instead.”
- Psalms 78:51He killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt. The strongest men of Ham's descendants died.
- Psalms 105:36Then the Lord killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt. He killed the oldest son in each family.
- Psalms 135:8God destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt, both men and animals.
- Psalms 136:10The Lord destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt. He brought the Israelites out from among the Egyptians. He did this with his great power and strength. He cut the Red Sea into two separate parts. He led the Israelites through the middle of the sea. He threw Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea to drown. The Lord led his people through the wilderness. So thank the Lord! His faithful love will always continue.
- Hebrews 11:28As a result of his faith, Moses told Israel's people to prepare the first Passover meal. He told them to put blood from the sacrifice round their doors. Then the angel who destroyed people came to every home. When he saw the blood, he did not kill the oldest sons in the families of Israel's people.
- Judges 16:21The Philistines took hold of Samson. They cut out his eyes. They tied him up with bronze chains. They made him do hard work as their prisoner. He had to push a heavy stone to make grain into flour.
- Isaiah 47:2Use heavy stones to make grain into flour. Take the veil off your face. Lift up your skirt. Walk through streams of water with bare legs.
- Lamentations 5:13They took the young men to make flour for them, like slaves. Our boys have to carry heavy bags of wood.
- Matthew 24:41Two women will be preparing food together in the same place. God will take one of them away, but he will leave the other woman behind.
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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