Exodus 8:28

Complete Jewish Bible

But this time, too, Pharaoh made himself stubborn and didn't let the people go.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Par`oh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Pray for me."

King James Version
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.

Lexham English Bible
And Pharaoh said, "I myself will release you, and you will sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert. Only surely you must not go far. Pray for me."

New Century Version
The king said, "I will let you go so that you may offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert, but you must not go very far away. Now go and pray for me."

New English Translation
Pharaoh said, "I will release you so that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the desert. Only you must not go very far. Do pray for me."

Amplified Bible
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Plead [with your God] for me."

New American Standard Bible
Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Plead for me."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice vnto the Lord your God in the wildernesse: but goe not farre away, pray for me.

Legacy Standard Bible
And Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Entreat for me."

Contemporary English Version
Then the king told him, "I'll let you go into the desert to offer sacrifices, if you don't go very far. But in the meantime, pray for me."

Darby Translation
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only, go not very far away: intreat for me!

Easy-to-Read Version
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go and offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now, go and pray for me."

English Standard Version
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me."

George Lamsa Translation
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away, and you must pray for me also.

Good News Translation
The king said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord , your God, in the desert, if you do not go very far. Pray for me."

Christian Standard Bible®
Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal for me.”

Literal Translation
And Pharaoh said, I will send you away, and you may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only do not go very far off. Pray for me.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Pharao sayde: I wil let you go, yt ye maie do sacrifice vnto the LORDE yor God in the wyldernes (onely yt ye go no farther) & praye for me.

American Standard Version
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

Bible in Basic English
Then Pharaoh said, I will let you go to make an offering to the Lord your God in the waste land; but do not go very far away, and make prayer for me.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Pharao sayd: I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice vnto the Lorde your God in the wyldernesse, but go not farre away: pray for me.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

King James Version (1611)
And Pharaoh said, I wil let you goe that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God, in the wildernes: onely you shall not goe very farre away: intreate for me.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Pharao said, I will let you go, and do ye sacrifice to your God in the wilderness, but do not go very far away: pray then for me to the Lord.

English Revised Version
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

Berean Standard Bible
Pharaoh answered, "I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Farao seide, Y schal delyuere you, that ye make sacrifice to `youre Lord God in deseert; netheles go ye not ferthere; preie ye for me.

Young's Literal Translation
And Pharaoh saith, `I send you away, and ye have sacrificed to Jehovah your God in the wilderness, only go not very far off; make ye supplication for me;'

Update Bible Version
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

World English Bible
Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Pray for me."

New King James Version
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me."

New Living Translation
"All right, go ahead," Pharaoh replied. "I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don't go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me."

New Life Bible
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so you may give a gift to the Lord your God. But do not go very far away. Pray for me."

New Revised Standard
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, provided you do not go very far away. Pray for me."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Pharaoh: I, will let you go - so shall ye sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert, only ye shall not go a, very long, journey, - make ye entreaty for me.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Pharao said: I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but go no farther: pray for me.

Revised Standard Version
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Make entreaty for me."

THE MESSAGE
Pharaoh said, "All right. I'll release you to go and sacrifice to your God in the wilderness. Only don't go too far. Now pray for me."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Make supplication for me."

Contextual Overview

²⁰ Adonai did it: terrible swarms of insects went into Pharaoh's palace and into all his servants' houses — the insects ruined the entire land of Egypt. ²¹ Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, "Go, and sacrifice to your God here in the land." ²² But Moshe replied, "It would be inappropriate for us to do that, because the animal we sacrifice to Adonai our God is an abomination to the Egyptians. Won't the Egyptians stone us to death if before their very eyes we sacrifice what they consider an abomination? ²³ No, we will go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to Adonai our God, as he has ordered us to do." ²⁴ Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you can sacrifice to Adonai your God in the desert. Only you are not to go very far away. Intercede on my behalf." ²⁵ Moshe said, "All right, I am going away from you, and I will intercede with Adonai ; so that tomorrow, the swarms of insects will leave Pharaoh, his servants and his people. Just make sure that Pharaoh stops playing games with the people by preventing them from going and sacrificing to Adonai ." ²⁶ Moshe left Pharaoh and interceded with Adonai , ²⁷ and Adonai did what Moshe had asked: he removed the swarms of insects from Pharaoh, his servants and his people — not one remained. ²⁸ But this time, too, Pharaoh made himself stubborn and didn't let the people go. ²⁹ Adonai said to Moshe, "Say to Aharon, ‘Reach out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals and ponds; and cause frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.'" Aharon put out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same with their secret arts and brought up frogs onto the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, "Intercede with Adonai to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let the people go and sacrifice to Adonai ." Moshe said to Pharaoh, "Not only that, but you can have the honor of naming the time when I will pray for you, your servants and your people to be rid of the frogs, both yourselves and your homes, and that they stay only in the river." He answered, "Tomorrow." Moshe said, "It will be as you have said, and from this you will learn that Adonai our God has no equal. (v) The frogs will leave you and your homes, also your servants and your people; they will stay in the river only." Moshe and Aharon left Pharaoh's presence, and Moshe cried to Adonai about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. Adonai did as Moshe had asked — the frogs died in the houses, courtyards and fields; they gathered them in heaps till the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that he had been given some relief, he made himself hardhearted and would not listen to them, just as Adonai had said would happen. Adonai said to Moshe, "Say to Aharon: ‘Reach out with your staff and strike the dust on the ground; it will become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.'" They did it — Aharon reached out his hand with his staff and struck the dust on the ground, and there were lice on people and animals; all the dust on the ground became lice throughout the whole land of Egypt. The magicians tried with their secret arts to produce lice, but they couldn't. There were lice on people and animals. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh was made hardhearted, so that he didn't listen to them, just as Adonai had said would happen. Adonai said to Moshe, "Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh when he goes out to the water and say to him, ‘Here is what Adonai says: "Let my people go, so that they can worship me. Otherwise, if you won't let my people go, I will send swarms of insects on you, your servants and your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of insects, and likewise the ground they stand on. But I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live — no swarms of insects will be there — so that you can realize that I am Adonai , right here in the land. (vi) Yes, I will distinguish between my people and your people, and this sign will happen by tomorrow."'" Adonai did it: terrible swarms of insects went into Pharaoh's palace and into all his servants' houses — the insects ruined the entire land of Egypt. Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, "Go, and sacrifice to your God here in the land." But Moshe replied, "It would be inappropriate for us to do that, because the animal we sacrifice to Adonai our God is an abomination to the Egyptians. Won't the Egyptians stone us to death if before their very eyes we sacrifice what they consider an abomination? No, we will go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to Adonai our God, as he has ordered us to do." Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you can sacrifice to Adonai your God in the desert. Only you are not to go very far away. Intercede on my behalf." Moshe said, "All right, I am going away from you, and I will intercede with Adonai ; so that tomorrow, the swarms of insects will leave Pharaoh, his servants and his people. Just make sure that Pharaoh stops playing games with the people by preventing them from going and sacrificing to Adonai ." Moshe left Pharaoh and interceded with Adonai , and Adonai did what Moshe had asked: he removed the swarms of insects from Pharaoh, his servants and his people — not one remained. But this time, too, Pharaoh made himself stubborn and didn't let the people go.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I will: Hosea 10:2

entreat: Exodus 8:8, Exodus 8:29, Exodus 9:28, Exodus 10:17, 1 Kings 13:6, Ezra 6:10, Ecclesiastes 6:10, Acts 8:24

Reciprocal: Exodus 10:18 - and entreated Exodus 10:24 - Go ye Exodus 12:32 - bless me Numbers 21:7 - pray Judges 11:8 - the elders 1 Samuel 5:7 - saw Jeremiah 37:3 - Pray Jeremiah 42:2 - and pray

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness,.... He does not say three days, though as he allowed them to go into the wilderness and sacrifice, they could not go and come again in less time; nor would Moses have accepted of the grant, as it seems by what follows he had, if he had obliged them to less time:

only you shall not go very far away; his meaning is, as Aben Ezra observes, that they should go no further than three days' journey; he was jealous that this was only an excuse to get entirely out of his dominions, and never return more. He might have heard of their claim to the land of Canaan, and of their talk, and hope, and expectation, of going and settling there; and so understood this motion of theirs, to have leave to go into the wilderness for three days, to sacrifice to the Lord, was only a pretence; that their real intention was to proceed on in their journey to Canaan; however, being in this great distress, he made as if he was willing to grant what they desired, and very importunately urged they would pray he might be delivered from this plague:

entreat for me; the words seem to be spoken in haste, and with great eagerness and vehemence.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 8:28. I will let you go only ye shall not go very far away — Pharaoh relented because the hand of God was heavy upon him; but he was not willing to give up his gain. The Israelites were very profitable to him; they were slaves of the state, and their hard labour was very productive: hence he professed a willingness, first to tolerate their religion in the land, (Exodus 8:25); or to permit them to go into the wilderness, so that they went not far away, and would soon return. How ready is foolish man, when the hand of God presses him sore, to compound with his Maker! He will consent to give up some sins, provided God will permit him to keep others.

Entreat for me. — Exactly similar to the case of Simon Magus, who, like Pharaoh, fearing the Divine judgments, begged an interest in the prayers of Peter, Acts 8:24.