Exodus 10:11

No, only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you have been requesting.” And Moses and Aaron were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Pharaoh counters Moses and Aaron’s request to release the Israelites for worship by permitting only the men to depart. Moses and Aaron are subsequently driven from his presence.

The words — The Hebrew sequence כֵּן לְכֻ־ נָא הַגְּבָרִים (ken lekhu-na ha-gĕbārîm) literally translates "so go-please the men," with the particle נָא (na', "please") and the noun הַגְּבָרִים (ha-gĕbārîm, "the men") explicitly placed between the imperative for departure and the following verb for serving.

The thread — Pharaoh’s partial concession mirrors his earlier resistance in Exodus 5:4 and points toward his final, absolute refusal in Exodus 10:28, while the psalmist contrasts this royal obstinacy with wholehearted adherence to divine instruction in Psalms 119:69.

Why it lands — The text records a negotiated boundary that God’s representatives will not accept, requiring readers to confront the reality that divided obedience is rejected and to pursue complete alignment with the command to worship.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לֹ֣אlo'not כֵ֗ןKhenso לְכֽוּ־le.khu-go נָ֤אna'please הַגְּבָרִים֙ha./ge.va.Rimthe/ men וְעִבְד֣וּve./'iv.Duand/ serve אֶת־'et-<obj.>יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh כִּ֥יkifor אֹתָ֖הּ'o.Ta/h<obj.>/ it אַתֶּ֣ם'a.Temyou מְבַקְשִׁ֑יםme.vak.Shim[are] requesting וַיְגָ֣רֶשׁva/y.Ga.reshand/ someone drove out אֹתָ֔ם'o.Ta/m<obj.>/ them מֵאֵ֖תme./'Etfrom/ with פְּנֵ֥יpe.Nei[the] face of פַרְעֹֽה׃ פfar.'OhPharaoh

King James Version

Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

Cross-references

Exodus 10:28 “Depart from me!” Pharaoh said to Moses. “Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”
Psalms 119:69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep Your precepts with all my heart.
Exodus 5:4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”
Psalms 52:3 You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking truth. Selah

People named

Pharaoh