English Standard Version
Exodus 8:28
28So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me."
Exodus 8:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.
- New International Version (NIV)Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“All right, go ahead,” Pharaoh replied. “I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don’t go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me.”
Context of Exodus 8:28
26But Moses said, "It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27We must go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us." So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me." 29Then Moses said, "Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord." 30So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.
Read all of Exodus 8Exodus 8:28 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר פַּרְעֹ֗ה אָנֹכִ֞י אֲשַׁלַּ֤ח אֶתְכֶם֙ וּזְבַחְתֶּ֞ם לַיהוָ֤ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר רַ֛ק הַרְחֵ֥ק לֹא־תַרְחִ֖יקוּ לָלֶ֑כֶת הַעְתִּ֖ירוּ בַּעֲדִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- I will let you goשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- that ye may sacrificeזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
- to the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- in the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- only ye shall not goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- veryרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
- intreatעָתַר‛âthar · to prayH6279
- for meבַּ֫עַדbe‛ad · about/through/forH1157
Cross-references for Exodus 8:28
- Hosea 10:2Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars.
- Exodus 8:8Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, "Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord."
- Exodus 9:28Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer."
- Exodus 10:17Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me."
- 1 Kings 13:6And the king said to the man of God, "Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me." And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before.
- Ezra 6:10that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
- Ecclesiastes 6:10Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.
- Acts 8:24And Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."
Commentaries on Exodus 8:28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28I will let you go only ye shall not go very far away - Pharaoh relented because the hand of God was heavy upon him; but he was not willing to give up his gain. The Israelites were very profitable to him; they were slaves of the state, and their hard labor was very productive: hence he professed a willingness, first to tolerate their religion in the land, ( Exodus 8:25;); or to permit them to go into the wilderness, so that they went not far away, and…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-32Verses 20-32 Pharaoh was early at his false devotions to the river; and shall we be for more sleep and more slumber, when any service to the Lord is to be done? The Egyptians and the Hebrews were to be marked in the plague of flies. The Lord knows them that are his, and will make it appear, perhaps in this world, certainly in the other, that he has set them apart for himself. Pharaoh unwillingly entered into a treaty with Moses and Aaron. He is content…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-32The fourth plague was the plague of flies. The Egyptians worshiped insects such as flies that seemed to be able to turn death into life, as their young seemed to emerge from decaying matter. If the Egyptians thought that insects had the secret of life, God would let them have all the insects they wanted. Some say that this infestation was the natural result of all the dead frogs, but there were no flies in Goshen (8:22), the northeastern delta area where…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 25-3225-32. Pharaoh called for Moses, ... Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land, &c.--Between impatient anxiety to be freed from this scourge and a reluctance on the part of the Hebrew bondsmen, the king followed the course of expediency; he proposed to let them free to engage in their religious rites within any part of the kingdom. But true to his instructions, Moses would accede to no such arrangement; he stated a most valid reason to show the danger of…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 8:28
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 8
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries