Exodus 9:3

then the hand of the LORD will bring a severe plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses delivers this warning to Pharaoh during the plague sequence, immediately following Pharaoh’s continued refusal to release the Israelite slaves. The announcement functions as a direct consequence of that obstinacy.

The words — The phrase יַד־ יְהוָה (yad-Yahweh) literally translates to “the hand of Yahweh,” denoting divine agency executing the coming judgment. The particle הִנֵּה (hi.Neh) operates as a demonstrative marker, foregrounding the imminent arrival of the plague on the specified animals.

The thread — The idiom of God’s “hand” bringing judgment appears in Exodus 7:4, where Yahweh declares He will lay His hand on Egypt, and reappears in Acts 13:11 with the same construction for divine opposition. The livestock focus directly sets up Exodus 9:4, which details the subsequent distinction between Israel’s and Egypt’s animals.

Why it lands — The text records a specific threat targeting Egyptian agricultural and economic resources before drawing any theological conclusion from it. It requires the reader to acknowledge that persistent resistance to divine command triggers targeted, escalating consequences.

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

הִנֵּ֨הhi.Nehthere!יַד־yad-[the] hand of יְהוָ֜הYah.wehYahweh הוֹיָ֗הho.Yah[is] about to be בְּמִקְנְךָ֙be./mik.ne./Chaon/ livestock/ your אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhich בַּשָּׂדֶ֔הba./sa.Deh[is] in the/ field בַּסּוּסִ֤יםba./su.Simon the/ horses בַּֽחֲמֹרִים֙ba./cha.mo.Rimon the/ donkeys בַּגְּמַלִּ֔יםba./ge.ma.Limon the/ camels בַּבָּקָ֖רba./ba.Karon the/ cattle וּבַצֹּ֑אןu./va./Tzonand/ on the/ sheep דֶּ֖בֶרDe.vera pestilence כָּבֵ֥דka.Vedheavy מְאֹֽד׃me.'Odvery

King James Version

Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

Cross-references

Exodus 7:4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
Acts 13:11 Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
Exodus 5:3 “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they answered. “Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”
Exodus 8:19 “This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
1 Samuel 5:6 Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.
1 Samuel 6:9 but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”