Exodus 3:18

Exodus 3:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.
• New International Version (NIV)“The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’

Context of Exodus 3:18

16Go and call the leaders of Israel to meet together. Say to them, “The Lord God has appeared to me. He is the God that your ancestors worshipped. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He said to me, ‘I have been carefully watching my people in Egypt. I have seen the bad things that the Egyptians have done to you. 17I promise that I will bring you out of your troubles in Egypt. I will lead you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. It is a land that will give you plenty of good food and drink, enough for everyone.’ ” When you say that, the leaders of the Israelites will listen to you. Then you must go with them to the king of Egypt. Say to him, “The Lord God has met with us. He is the God that we, the Israelite people, worship. So let us go on a journey into the wilderness. That will be a journey of three days. We must offer sacrifices to the Lord our God there.” 19But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go. Only some great power will make him agree. 20So I will show him my power! I will do powerful miracles to punish the Egyptians. When they see that, Pharaoh will let you go free.

Exodus 3:18 word by word

וְשָׁמְע֖וּ לְקֹלֶ֑ךָ וּבָאתָ֡ אַתָּה֩ וְזִקְנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֗יִם וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֤ם אֵלָיו֙ יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י הָֽעִבְרִיִּים֙ נִקְרָ֣ה עָלֵ֔ינוּ וְעַתָּ֗ה נֵֽלֲכָה־נָּ֞א דֶּ֣רֶךְ שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת יָמִים֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר וְנִזְבְּחָ֖ה לַֽיהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they shall hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• to thy voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
• and thou shalt comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• thou and the eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• unto the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• and ye shall sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto him, The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of the Hebrewsעִבְרִי‛ibrîy · HebrewH5680
• hath metקָרָהqârâh · to meetH7136
• with us: and now let us goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• we beseech thee, threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• days’יוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• journeyדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
• into the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• that we may sacrificeזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076

Cross-references for Exodus 3:18

• Exodus 3:16Go and call the leaders of Israel to meet together. Say to them, “The Lord God has appeared to me. He is the God that your ancestors worshipped. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He said to me, ‘I have been carefully watching my people in Egypt. I have seen the bad things that the Egyptians have done to you.
• Exodus 4:31And the people believed Aaron and Moses. They had heard that the Lord had come to his people. God had seen their hard life and he was sorry for them. They put their heads down and they worshipped God.
• Joshua 1:17As we always obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. The Lord your God was with Moses. So we pray that the Lord will be with you too.
• 2 Chronicles 30:12As for the people of Judah, God caused them to accept the command that the king and his officers had given. They all agreed together to do what the Lord wanted them to do.
• Psalms 110:3When you go to fight your enemies, your people will be happy to fight beside you. As the sun rises on the day of battle, your young men will be there, on the hills round Zion.
• Jeremiah 26:5You must listen to the messages that my servants the prophets tell you. I have sent them to speak to you many times, but you have not listened to them.
• Exodus 5:1After this, Moses and Aaron went to visit Pharaoh. They said to him, ‘Listen to what the Lord says. He is the God of Israel. He says, “Let my people go. Let them prepare a feast in the desert to worship me.” ’
• Exodus 7:16Then say to Pharaoh, “The Lord, the God of the Israelites, has sent me to you to say, ‘Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert.’ But until now, you have not listened to my message.
• Exodus 9:1Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Israelites says this: Let my people go so that they may worship me.
• Exodus 10:3So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They said to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Israelites says this: “You are still too proud to obey me. Let my people go so that they may worship me.
• Exodus 4:24On the way to Egypt, there was a place where people could rest on their journey. The Lord met Moses there and he wanted to kill Moses.
• Exodus 5:3Moses and Aaron said, ‘The God of the Israelites has met us. Please let us go. We must go on a journey of three days into the desert. There we must give gifts to the Lord our God. If we do not do this, God may punish us. We may become very ill, or people may attack us in war.’
• Exodus 25:22I will meet with you there, between the two cherubs that are above the lid. They watch over the Covenant Box. In that place I will give you all my commands for the Israelites.
• Exodus 29:42You and your descendants must continue to make this burnt offering as a regular offering to me, the Lord. Offer it to me at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. I will meet with you there and I will speak to you.
• Exodus 30:6Put the altar for incense in the Holy Place in the tabernacle. Put it in front of the curtain that hides the Covenant Box. It will be near the special lid that covers the Covenant Box. That is the place where I will meet with you.
• Genesis 12:1The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country and the people of your father's family. Go to the land that I will show you.

Commentaries on Exodus 3:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18They shall hearken to thy voice - This assurance was necessary to encourage him in an enterprise so dangerous and important. Three days' journey into the wilderness - Evidently intending Mount Sinai, which is reputed to be about three days' journey, the shortest way, from the land of Goshen. In ancient times, distances were computed by the time required to pass over them. Thus, instead of miles, furlongs, etc., it was said, the distance from one place to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Three days‘ journey - i. e. a journey which would occupy three days in going and returning. This was a demand quite in accordance with Egyptian customs. The refusal of Pharaoh and the subsequent proceedings were revealed to Moses at once; but it is important to observe that the first request which Pharaoh rejected could have been granted without any damage to Egypt, or any risk of the Israelites passing the strongly-fortified frontier.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 Moses' success with the elders of Israel would be good. God, who, by his grace, inclines the heart, and opens the ear, could say beforehand, They shall hearken to thy voice; for he would make them willing in this day of power. As to Pharaoh, Moses is here told that petitions and persuasions, and humble complaints, would not prevail with him; nor a mighty hand stretched out in signs and wonders. But those will certainly be broken by the power…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18Hebrews: See study note on 1:15. a three-day journey … so that we may sacrifice: If we view the main goal of the exodus as rescuing the Israelites from slavery, this request might seem insincere. But God's main goal was to create a nation for himself. He led them into the wilderness to teach them how to worship him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-2210-22. Come now therefore, and I will send thee--Considering the patriotic views that had formerly animated the breast of Moses, we might have anticipated that no mission could have been more welcome to his heart than to be employed in the national emancipation of Israel. But he evinced great reluctance to it and stated a variety of objections [Ex 3:11, 13; 4:1, 10] all of which were successfully met and removed--and the happy issue of his labors was…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 3:18

• Day
• Government
• Israel
• Moses
• Religion

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• God
• Israel
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Appear
• Backside

Commentaries on Exodus 3

• 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