Exodus 6:9

Exodus 6:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
• New International Version (NIV)Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
• New Living Translation (NLT)So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.

Context of Exodus 6:9

7I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ” So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. 10And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11“Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

Exodus 6:9 word by word

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר מֹשֶׁ֛ה כֵּ֖ן אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• so unto the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• but they hearkenedשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• for anguishקֹ֫צֶרqôtser · shortnessH7115
• of spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
• and for cruelקָשֶׁהqâsheh · severeH7186
• bondageעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · serviceH5656

Cross-references for Exodus 6:9

• Exodus 5:21And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
• Exodus 14:12Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
• Job 21:4“As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
• Proverbs 14:19The evil will bow before the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
• Numbers 21:4Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.

Commentaries on Exodus 6:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9But they hearkened not - Their bondage was become so extremely oppressive that they had lost all hope of ever being redeemed from it. After this verse the Samaritan adds, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians: for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. This appears to be borrowed from Exodus 14:12. Anguish of spirit - רוח קצר kotzer ruach, shortness of spirit or breath. The words signify that their…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9They hearkened not - The contrast between the reception of this communication and that recorded in Exodus 4:31 is accounted for by the change of circumstances. On the former occasion the people were comparatively at ease, accustomed to their lot, sufficiently afflicted to long for deliverance, and sufficiently free in spirit to hope for it. For anguish - See the margin; out of breath, as it were, after their cruel disappointment, they were quite absorbed…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9The crisis became worse because the people ignored the repeated promises. They had not anticipated that their initial faith would produce greater problems for them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-119-11. Moses spake so unto the children of Israel--The increased severities inflicted on the Israelites seem to have so entirely crushed their spirits, as well as irritated them, that they refused to listen to any more communications (Ex 14:12). Even the faith of Moses himself was faltering; and he would have abandoned the enterprise in despair had he not received a positive command from God to revisit the people without delay, and at the same time renew…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 6:9

• Despondency
• Moses

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Moses
• Children of Israel
• Anguish
• Groaning
• Rid
• Exodus, the Book of
• Feeble-Minded
• Genealogy
• Genesis

Commentaries on Exodus 6

• 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