Exodus 11:4

Exodus 11:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
• English Standard Version (ESV)So Moses said, "Thus says the Lord: 'About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt;
• New Living Translation (NLT)Moses had announced to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: At midnight tonight I will pass through the heart of Egypt.

Context of Exodus 11:4

2Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” 3(The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.) So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.

Exodus 11:4 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֹּ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה כַּחֲצֹ֣ת הַלַּ֔יְלָה אֲנִ֥י יוֹצֵ֖א בְּת֥וֹךְ מִצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• About midnightחָצוֹתchâtsôth · middleH2676
• About midnightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• will I go outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• into the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714

Cross-references for Exodus 11:4

• Exodus 12:12“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.
• Job 34:20They die in an instant, in the middle of the night; the people are shaken and they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.
• Amos 4:10“I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.
• Amos 5:17There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says the Lord.
• Matthew 25:6“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
• 2 Samuel 5:24As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.”
• Psalms 60:10Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us and no longer go out with our armies?
• Isaiah 42:13The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.
• Micah 2:13The One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the Lord at their head.”

Commentaries on Exodus 11:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4About midnight will I go out - Whether God did this by the ministry of a good or of an evil angel is a matter of little importance, though some commentators have greatly magnified it. Both kinds of angels are under his power and jurisdiction, and he may employ them as he pleases. Such a work of destruction as the slaying of the first-born is supposed to be more proper for a bad than for a good angel. But the works of God's justice are not less holy and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And Moses said - The following words must be read in immediate connection with the last verse of the preceding chapter. About midnight - This marks the hour, but not the day, on which the visitation would take place. There may have been, and probably was, an interval of some days, during which preparations might be made both for the celebration of the Passover, and the departure of the Israelites.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-10Verses 4-10 The death of all the first-born in Egypt at once: this plague had been the first threatened, but is last executed. See how slow God is to wrath. The plague is foretold, the time is fixed; all their first-born should sleep the sleep of death, not silently, but so as to rouse the families at midnight. The prince was not too high to be reached by it, nor the slaves at the mill too low to be noticed. While angels slew the Egyptians, not so much as…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-9The final plague was the death of the firstborn sons. The Egyptians worshiped life. They gave so much attention to preparations for life after death because they wanted to ensure that it would be at least as good as their lives in Egypt. Death itself is in God’s hand. There is no underworld god who can ultimately defeat the God of life. Both life and death belong to the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Thus saith the Lord, About midnight--Here is recorded the announcement of the last plague made in the most solemn manner to the king, on whose hardened heart all his painful experience had hitherto produced no softening, at least no permanently good effect. will I go out into the midst of Egypt--language used after the manner of men.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 11:4

• Plague

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Moses
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Cry
• Die
• Firstborn
• Plague
• Divorce in the Old Testament
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis

Commentaries on Exodus 11

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings