Exodus 5:21

Exodus 5:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
• New International Version (NIV)and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)and they said to them, "The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Context of Exodus 5:21

19The Israelite work leaders heard Pharaoh say, ‘You must still make the same number of bricks as you made before.’ Then they knew that they were in trouble. 20When they left Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron were waiting for them to return from Pharaoh. The work leaders said to Moses and Aaron, ‘We hope that the Lord will punish you! You have made us like a bad smell to Pharaoh and to his officers. You have given them a reason to kill us.’ 22Then Moses returned to the Lord. He said, ‘My Lord, why have you brought trouble to these people? Why did you send me to lead them? 23I went to speak to Pharaoh with your authority. But since I spoke to Pharaoh, he has caused these people to have trouble. And you have done nothing to save your people.’

Exodus 5:21 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם יֵ֧רֶא יְהוָ֛ה עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם וְיִשְׁפֹּ֑ט אֲשֶׁ֧ר הִבְאַשְׁתֶּ֣ם אֶת־רֵיחֵ֗נוּ בְּעֵינֵ֤י פַרְעֹה֙ וּבְעֵינֵ֣י עֲבָדָ֔יו לָֽתֶת־חֶ֥רֶב בְּיָדָ֖ם לְהָרְגֵֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• lookרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• upon you, and judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
• because ye have made our savourרֵיחַrêyach · aromaH7381
• to be abhorredבָּאַשׁbâ'ash · to stinkH887
• in the eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• of Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• and in the eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: appearanceH5869
• of his servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• to putנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• a swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• in their handיָדyâd · handH3027
• to slayהָרַגhârag · to killH2026

Cross-references for Exodus 5:21

• 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.
• Exodus 6:9Moses told the Lord's message to the Israelites. But they refused to listen to him. They were very weak and tired, because their Egyptian masters were so cruel to them.
• Genesis 16:5Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘It is because of you that Hagar is now insulting me. I gave her to you so that you could have sex with her. Now she is pregnant and she does not respect me. The Lord will decide who is right, you or me.’
• Ecclesiastes 10:1A few dead flies in a bottle of perfume cause it to have a bad smell. In the same way, one foolish thing can destroy a lot of wisdom.
• Joel 2:20I will send the army from the north far from you. I will push it into empty land where nothing grows. I will make the front of it go into the sea on the east. And I will make the back of it go into the sea on the west. I will make its smell rise up high because it has done great things.’
• 2 Corinthians 2:15When we tell people about Christ, we are like a lovely smell that rises up to God. We are like that among the people that God is saving. We are also like that among the people who are dying because they are far from God.
• Genesis 34:30When they returned to Jacob, he said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought bad trouble to me! The people who live in this land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, will hate me. I will be like a bad smell to them. We do not have many men to fight for us. If the Perizzites and Canaanites join together and they attack us, they will destroy our whole family!’
• 1 Samuel 13:4Everyone in Israel heard this message: ‘Saul has attacked the Philistines' camp. Now the Philistines hate the Israelites even more than they did before.’ So all the soldiers in Israel came to join Saul at Gilgal.
• 1 Samuel 27:12So King Achish trusted David. He thought, ‘The Israelites must now hate David very much. So David will have to be my servant for ever.’
• 2 Samuel 10:6The Ammonites realized that they had made David very angry. So they paid 20,000 Syrian soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah to come and fight for them. They also brought 1,000 soldiers from the king of Maakah and 12,000 soldiers from Tob.
• 1 Chronicles 19:6The Ammonites realized that they had caused David to be very angry. So King Hanun and his people made an agreement with the people of Aram-Naharaim, Aram-Maacah and Zobah. The Ammonites sent them about 34,000 kilograms of silver to get their help with chariots and their drivers.

Commentaries on Exodus 5:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21The Lord look upon you, and judge - These were hasty and unkind expressions; but the afflicted must be allowed the privilege of complaining; it is all the solace that such sorrow can find; and if in such distress words are spoken which should not be justified, yet the considerate and benevolent will hear them with indulgence. God is merciful; and the stroke of this people was heavier even than their groaning. Put a sword in their hand - Given them a…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-23Verses 10-23 The Egyptian task-masters were very severe. See what need we have to pray that we may be delivered from wicked men. The head-workmen justly complained to Pharaoh: but he taunted them. The malice of Satan has often represented the service and worship of God, as fit employment only for those who have nothing else to do, and the business only of the idle; whereas, it is the duty of those who are most busy in the world. Those who are diligent in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-23In this section, the Lord promised to rescue the Israelites. He said that he would bring them out of slavery. At first, the people responded in a positive way. They believed what God said. However, later they faced a crisis of faith. They began to doubt God’s promise and struggled to trust him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2120-21. they met Moses ... The Lord look upon you, and judge--Thus the deliverer of Israel found that this patriotic interference did, in the first instance, only aggravate the evil he wished to remove, and that instead of receiving the gratitude, he was loaded with the reproaches of his countrymen. But as the greatest darkness is immediately before the dawn, so the people of God are often plunged into the deepest affliction when on the eve of their…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 5:21

• Aaron
• Evil for Good
• Moses
• Murmuring
• Uncharitableness

In the dictionaries

• Pharaoh
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Cover
• Demand
• Tale
• Task
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Leviticus
• Savor

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