Exodus 15:9

The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The enemy declares his intentions while pursuing the Israelites after they cross the sea, immediately before God intervenes to cover the pursuers with water.

The words — The Hebrew שָׁלָ֑ל (sha.Lal) literally means "plunder," and אֶרְדֹּ֥ף ('er.Dof) translates directly to "I will pursue," capturing the enemy's aggressive intent.

The thread — The theme of dividing spoils recurs in Judges 5:30 and Isaiah 53:12, while the motive to pursue the fleeing people echoes the context of Exodus 14:5.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human arrogance in pursuit and plunder meets divine intervention that halts the enemy and delivers the pursued.

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

אָמַ֥ר'a.Marhe said אוֹיֵ֛ב'o.Yev[the] enemy אֶרְדֹּ֥ף'er.DofI will pursue אַשִּׂ֖יג'a.SigI will overtake אֲחַלֵּ֣ק'a.cha.LekI will divide שָׁלָ֑לsha.Lal[the] plunder תִּמְלָאֵ֣מוֹtim.la.'E./movit will be full of/ them נַפְשִׁ֔יnaf.Sh/iself/ my אָרִ֣יק'a.RikI will draw חַרְבִּ֔יchar.B/isword/ my תּוֹרִישֵׁ֖מוֹto.ri.She./movit will dispossess/ them יָדִֽי׃ya.D/ihand/ my

King James Version

The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

Cross-references

Judges 5:30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—a girl or two for each warrior, a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera, the spoil of embroidered garments for the neck of the looter?’
Exodus 14:5 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 released Israel from serving us.”
Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
Luke 11:22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted, and then he divides up his plunder.
Genesis 49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
Isaiah 36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
Habakkuk 3:14 With his own spear You pierced his head, when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though ready to secretly devour the weak.
Exodus 14:8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out defiantly.
1 Kings 19:2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like the lives of those you killed!”
1 Kings 20:10 Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”