Exodus 9:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh instructs Moses to approach Pharaoh and deliver a direct command regarding the Israelites. This occurs at a moment of divine escalation following previous confrontations.
The words — בֹּ֖א (bo') translates literally as "go," and וְ/דִבַּרְתָּ֣ (ve./di.bar.Ta) means "and you will say." These verbs frame the imperative movement and speech required of Moses.
The thread — The command to deliver this message to Pharaoh recurs in Exodus 8:1, Exodus 10:3, and Exodus 8:20. Each instance repeats the directive for Moses to confront the Egyptian ruler with Yahweh’s demand.
Why it lands — The text states that worship requires liberation from human restraint. It asks the reader to recognize that divine authority supersedes political power and that obedience to God necessitates confronting opposing earthly structures.
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, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Cross-references
- Exodus 8:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
- Exodus 10:3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
- Exodus 8:20 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and when Pharaoh goes out to the water, stand before him and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
- Exodus 9:13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
- 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 4:22 Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,
- 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.’”