English Standard Version
Exodus 3:19
19But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.
Exodus 3:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
- New International Version (NIV)But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him.
Context of Exodus 3:19
17and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey."' 18And 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.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty,
Read all of Exodus 3Exodus 3:19 word by word
וַאֲנִ֣י יָדַ֔עְתִּי כִּ֠י לֹֽא־יִתֵּ֥ן אֶתְכֶ֛ם מֶ֥לֶךְ מִצְרַ֖יִם לַהֲלֹ֑ךְ וְלֹ֖א בְּיָ֥ד חֲזָקָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 3:19
- Exodus 5:2But 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."
- Exodus 7:4Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.
- Exodus 6:1But the Lord said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land."
- Exodus 7:1And the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.
- Exodus 8:1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
- Exodus 9:1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
- Exodus 10:1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them,
- Exodus 11:1The Lord said to Moses, "Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely.
- Exodus 12:1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
- Exodus 13:1The Lord said to Moses,
- Exodus 14:1Then the Lord said to Moses,
- Psalms 136:11and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever;
- Isaiah 63:12who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name,
Commentaries on Exodus 3:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand - When the facts detailed in this history have been considered in connection with the assertion as it stands in our Bibles, the most palpable contradiction has appeared. That the king of Egypt did let them go, and that by a mighty hand, the book itself amply declares. We should therefore seek for another meaning of the original word. ולא velo, which generally means and not, has…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19No, not - See the marginal rendering. Others explain it to mean, Pharaoh will not let the people go even when severely smitten.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. 19I know: See “Hardened Hearts” Theme Note.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 3:19
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries