Bible Strands
Exodus 8:27
We must make a three-day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He commands us.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Pharaoh immediately after explaining why Israel cannot perform sacrifices within Egypt without provoking stoning. He proposes a temporary withdrawal to the desert to worship according to divine instruction.
The words — The noun דֶּרֶךְ (De.rekh) means “a journey,” directly modified by שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים (she.Lo.shet ya.Mim) to specify “three days.” The verb נֵלֵךְ (ne.Lekh) translates literally as “we will go,” establishing the required movement for the sacrifice.
The thread — This request for a three-day wilderness journey first appears in God’s commission to Moses at Exodus 3:18 and is restated in the initial confrontation at Exodus 5:3. The divine promise of presence in Exodus 3:12 grounds the feasibility of the mission.
Why it lands — The text states that worship requires physical separation from Egypt to avoid detestation and violence. It asks the reader to recognize that obedience to divine command often demands deliberate distance from hostile environments.
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
We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us.
Cross-references
- Exodus 3:18 The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’
- Exodus 3:12 “I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”
- Exodus 5:1 After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”
- Exodus 10:26 Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind, for we will need some of them to worship the LORD our God, and we will not know how we are to worship the LORD until we arrive.”
- Exodus 34:11 Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Leviticus 10:1 Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.
- Matthew 28:20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”