God’s Word Translation
Exodus 5:2
2Pharaoh asked, “Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I won’t let Israel go.”
Exodus 5:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.
- New International Version (NIV)Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But 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."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”
Context of Exodus 5:2
1Later Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Let my people go into the desert to celebrate a festival in my honor.” Pharaoh asked, “Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I won’t let Israel go.” 3They replied, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t go, he may kill us with a plague or a war.” 4The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their work? Get back to work!”
Read all of Exodus 5Exodus 5:2 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר פַּרְעֹ֔ה מִ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶשְׁמַ֣ע בְּקֹל֔וֹ לְשַׁלַּ֖ח אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לֹ֤א יָדַ֙עְתִּי֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֔ה וְגַ֥ם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֹ֥א אֲשַׁלֵּֽחַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 5:2
- Exodus 3:19I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, even if he is forced to.
- 2 Kings 18:35Did the gods of those countries rescue them from my control? Could the Lord then rescue Jerusalem from my control?”
- 2 Chronicles 32:15Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this. Don’t believe him. No god of any nation or kingdom could save his people from me or my ancestors. Certainly, your God will not rescue you from me!”
- Job 21:15Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? What do we gain if we pray to him?’
- Psalms 10:4He turns up his nose ⌞and says⌟, “God doesn’t care.” His every thought ⌞concludes⌟, “There is no God.”
- Psalms 12:4that has said, “We will overcome with our tongues. With lips such as ours, who can be our master?”
- Psalms 14:1Godless fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They do disgusting things. There is no one who does good things.
- 1 Samuel 2:12Eli’s sons, ⌞Hophni and Phinehas,⌟ were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord.
- John 16:3They will do these things to you because they haven’t known the Father or me.
- Romans 1:28And because they thought it was worthless to acknowledge God, God allowed their own immoral minds to control them. So they do these indecent things.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8He will take revenge on those who refuse to acknowledge God and on those who refuse to respond to the Good News about our Lord Jesus.
- Jeremiah 44:16“We won’t listen to the message that you have spoken to us in the Lord’s name.
Commentaries on Exodus 5:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Who is the Lord - Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice? What claims has he on me? I am under no obligation to him. Pharaoh spoke here under the common persuasion that every place and people had a tutelary deity, and he supposed that this Jehovah might be the tutelary deity of the Israelites, to whom he, as an Egyptian, could be under no kind of obligation. It is not judicious to bring this question as a proof that Pharaoh was an atheist: of this…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2I know not the Lord - Either Pharaoh had not heard of Yahweh, or he did not recognize Him as a God.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Pharaoh quickly addressed the main issue. What god could be greater than Pharaoh? What god could make him do something against his will? This is a key question for all people. Is there anyone or anything more important than my own interests?Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord--rather "Jehovah." Lord was a common name applied to objects of worship; but Jehovah was a name he had never heard of. Pharaoh estimated the character and power of this God by the abject and miserable condition of the worshippers and concluded that He held as low a rank among the gods as His people did in the nation. To demonstrate the supremacy of the true God over all the gods of Egypt, was the design of the plagues…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 5:2
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries