Bible Strands
Exodus 6:1
But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks to Moses after Moses reports that Pharaoh rejected the demand and the Israelites' labor worsened (Exodus 5). This is God's direct response to that failure.
The words — עַתָּה ('attāh), "now," marks a hard pivot from the past complaint to the coming act. אֶעֱשֶׂה ('e'ēśeh), "I will do," is the divine active future, not a conditional.
The thread — The "mighty hand" language echoes Exodus 3:19, where God already told Moses Pharaoh would not release the people unless compelled by a mighty hand. The fulfillment arrives in Exodus 12:31–33, where Pharaoh himself commands the departure and the Egyptians urge them out.
Why it lands — The verse names a specific oppressor and a specific act of release, leaving no room for vague hope. It asks the reader to hold the gap between present failure and declared future without collapsing one into the other.
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 the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
Cross-references
- Exodus 12:33 And in order to send them out of the land quickly, the Egyptians urged the people on. “For otherwise,” they said, “we are all going to die!”
- Exodus 3:19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.
- Exodus 12:31 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.
- Exodus 12:39 Since their dough had no leaven, the people baked what they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves. For when they had been driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.
- Psalms 136:12 with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. His loving devotion endures forever.
- Exodus 11:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring upon Pharaoh and Egypt one more plague. After that, he will allow you to leave this place. And when he lets you go, he will drive you out completely.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
- Ezekiel 20:33 As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath I will rule over you.
- 2 Chronicles 20:17 You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”
- Psalms 12:5 “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”