New English Translation
Exodus 5:2
2But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel!”
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
1Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Release my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast to me in the desert.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel!” 3And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journey into the desert so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword.” 4The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work? Return to your labor!”
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 3:19But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not even under force.
- 2 Kings 18:35Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’”
- 2 Chronicles 32:15Now don’t let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. So how can your gods rescue you from my power?’”
- Job 21:15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain if we were to pray to him?’
- Psalms 10:4The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks, “God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”
- Psalms 12:4They say, “We speak persuasively; we know how to flatter and boast. Who is our master?”
- Psalms 14:1Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.” They sin and commit evil deeds; none of them does what is right.
- 1 Samuel 2:12The sons of Eli were wicked men. They did not recognize the Lord’s authority.
- John 16:3They will do these things because they have not known the Father or me.
- Romans 1:28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- Jeremiah 44:16“We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us!
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
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