Exodus 7:16

ESV And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness." But so far, you have not obeyed.

NIV Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.

NASB And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, 'Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened up to now.'

CSB Tell him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness, but so far you have not listened.

NLT Then announce to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, 'Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.' Until now, you have refused to listen to him.

KJV And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

NKJV And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear!

What does Exodus 7:16 mean?

Moses is to deliver another message to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God has already demanded the release of Israel from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 1:11–14; 5:1–3). Pharaoh refused (Exodus 5:4). He has ignored a miraculous sign (Exodus 7:10–13). Now the demand is repeated, as Pharaoh goes to the Nile river in the morning (Exodus 7:14–15). This is something the Lord expected (Exodus 3:18–20), knowing that Pharaoh would refuse even the smallest request for Israelite freedom.

Moses will explain that the terrible plague about to occur is meant to prove that the God making these demands is real (Exodus 7:17–18). Egypt will suffer for seven days (Exodus 7:25) and be forced to dig for water (Exodus 7:24), because the river and all surface waters will be turned into undrinkable, decomposing blood (Exodus 7:17–18).

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