Bible Strands
Exodus 10:16
Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Pharaoh speaks to Moses and Aaron immediately after the locust plague consumes every remaining plant in Egypt. He initiates the encounter by hastily summoning them following the total agricultural devastation.
The words — חָטָאתִי (cha.Ta.ti) translates literally as "I have sinned," functioning as a direct verbal admission. וַיְמָהֵר (va.y.ma.Her) means "he hurried," describing the sudden speed of his summons after the preceding judgment.
The thread — This confession structure recurs in Exodus 9:27, Numbers 21:7, and Numbers 22:34, where figures acknowledge fault before petitioning for relief or intervention.
Why it lands — The text records Pharaoh's admission occurring before his immediate request for forgiveness and intercession in the next verse. Interpreters note that this sequence highlights how repeated judgments force acknowledgment of divine authority, though the text itself only documents the verbal confession and its timing.
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
King James Version
Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.
Cross-references
- Exodus 9:27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said. “The LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
- Numbers 21:7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses interceded for the people.
- Numbers 22:34 “I have sinned,” Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “for I did not realize that you were standing in the road to confront me. And now, if this is displeasing in your sight, I will go back home.”
- 1 Samuel 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
- 1 Samuel 15:30 “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”
- 1 Samuel 26:21 Then Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. I will never harm you again, because today you considered my life precious. I have played the fool and have committed a grave error!”
- 2 Samuel 19:20 For your servant knows that I have sinned, so here I am today as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”
- Job 34:31 Suppose someone says to God, ‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more.
- Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- Matthew 27:4 “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”