Bible Strands
Exodus 4:21
The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Moses mid-journey, after Moses has already set out for Egypt with his family and the staff (v. 20). This is a directive given en route, not a pre-departure briefing.
The words — רְאֵה (re'eh, H7200) is an imperative carrying the force of "see that you do," a command to ensure rather than merely observe. It marks the verse as a charge, not a suggestion.
The thread — The motif of divine hardening recurs in Exodus 14:8 and Joshua 11:20, and Paul cites the principle in Romans 9:18. In each case, God's hardening serves a larger purpose within His sovereign plan.
Why it lands — The verse places human agency (Moses must act) and divine sovereignty (God hardens Pharaoh) in the same breath without resolving the tension. The reader is asked to hold both claims without smoothing one away.
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
And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
Cross-references
- Romans 9:18 Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
- 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.
- Joshua 11:20 For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Isaiah 63:17 Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.
- Exodus 7:13 Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
- Exodus 9:12 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.
- Exodus 9:35 So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.
- Exodus 3:20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders I will perform among them. And after that, he will release you.
- Exodus 10:20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
- John 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”