Exodus 14:3

Exodus 14:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
• New International Version (NIV)Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, 'They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’

Context of Exodus 14:3

1And Yhwh spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi–hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal–zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his army; that the Egyptians may know that I am Yhwh. And they did so. 5And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

Exodus 14:3 word by word

וְאָמַ֤ר פַּרְעֹה֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל נְבֻכִ֥ים הֵ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ סָגַ֥ר עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃Read the interlinear

• For Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• will sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• of the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• entangledבּוּךְbûk · to perplexH943
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• hath shut them inסָגַרsâgar · to shutH5462

Cross-references for Exodus 14:3

• Exodus 7:3And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
• Deuteronomy 31:21And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.
• Psalms 139:2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
• Ezekiel 38:10Thus saith the Lord Yhwh; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
• Acts 4:28For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
• Judges 16:2And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
• 1 Samuel 23:7And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
• Psalms 3:2Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
• Psalms 71:11Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.
• Jeremiah 20:10For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.

Commentaries on Exodus 14:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3They are entangled in the land - God himself brought them into straits from which no human power or art could extricate them. Consider their situation when once brought out of the open country, where alone they had room either to fight or fly. Now they had the Red Sea before them, Pharaoh and his host behind them, and on their right and left hand fortresses of the Egyptians to prevent their escape; nor had they one boat or transport prepared for their…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3They are entangled … - The original intention of Moses was to go toward Palestine by the wilderness: when that purpose was changed by God‘s direction and they moved southwards, Pharaoh, on receiving information, was of course aware that they were completely shut in, since the waters of the Red Sea then extended to the Bitter Lakes. It is known that the Red Sea at some remote period extended considerably further toward the north than it does at present. In…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4The Lord’s redemptive power was demonstrated as he brought Israel into a place where they were completely helpless and had to either rely on him for rescue or die. At the time, it might have seemed foolish. But Israel would thank God throughout its history for guiding them to that situation (see Psalm 106:7–12; compare Isaiah 12:2–6).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. the wilderness hath shut them in--Pharaoh, who would eagerly watch their movements, was now satisfied that they were meditating flight, and he naturally thought from the error into which they appeared to have fallen by entering that defile, he could intercept them. He believed them now entirely in his power, the mountain chain being on one side, the sea on the other, so that, if he pursued them in the rear, escape seemed impossible.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 14:3

• God Continued...

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Pharaoh
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Children of Israel
• Better
• Cover
• Heavily
• Lack

Commentaries on Exodus 14

• 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