Exodus 14:5 - Forerunner Commentary

Exodus 14:5

3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ^a‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’

4 Then ^aI will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I ^bwill gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, ^cthat the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and ^athe heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”

6 So he¹ made ready his chariot and took his people with him.

7 Also, he took ^asix hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them.

8 And the Lord ^ahardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and ^bthe children of Israel went out with boldness.

9 So the ^aEgyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel ^acried out to the Lord.

11 ^aThen they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?

12 ^aIs 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.”

13 And Moses said to the people, ^a“Do not be afraid. ^bStand still, and see the ^csalvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall ^dsee again no more forever.

14 ^aThe Lord will fight for you, and you shall ^bhold your peace.”

15 And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

16 But ^alift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

17 And I indeed will ^aharden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will ^bgain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.

18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

19 And the Angel of God, ^awho went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.

20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and ^amade the sea into dry land, and the waters were ^bdivided.

22 So ^athe children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were ^ba wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 Now it came to pass, in the morning ^awatch, that ^bthe Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He¹ troubled the army of the Egyptians.

25 And He¹ took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord ^afights for them against the Egyptians.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”

27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea ^areturned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord ^boverthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

Verse Comparison: Exodus 14:5

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Exodus 14:6 >>

American Standard Version
And it was told the king of Egypt that the people were fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed towards the people, and they said, What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

Amplified® Bible
It was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, What is this we have done? We have let Israel go from serving us!

Contemporary English Version
When the king of Egypt heard that the Israelites had finally left, he and his officials changed their minds and said, "Look what we have done! We let them get away, and they will no longer be our slaves."

Darby English Version
And it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his bondmen was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from our service?

Good News Bible
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had escaped, he and his officials changed their minds and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites escape, and we have lost them as our slaves!"

King James Version
And 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?

New American Standard Bible
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?"

New International Version
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!"

New King James Version
Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, "Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?"

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
When the king of Egypt learned that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, "What have we done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?"

Revised Standard Version
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?"

Young's Literal Translation
And it is declared to the king of Egypt that the people hath fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants is turned against the people, and they say, `What `is' this we have done? that we have sent Israel away from our service.'

New English Translation
When it was reported¹ to the king of Egypt that the people had fled,² the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and the king and his servants said,³ “What in the world have we done?⁴ For we have released the people of Israel⁵ from serving us!”

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