Exodus 8:28

JPS Old Testament

And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Par`oh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Pray for me."

King James Version
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.

Lexham English Bible
And Pharaoh said, "I myself will release you, and you will sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert. Only surely you must not go far. Pray for me."

New Century Version
The king said, "I will let you go so that you may offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert, but you must not go very far away. Now go and pray for me."

New English Translation
Pharaoh said, "I will release you so that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the desert. Only you must not go very far. Do pray for me."

Amplified Bible
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Plead [with your God] for me."

New American Standard Bible
Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Plead for me."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice vnto the Lord your God in the wildernesse: but goe not farre away, pray for me.

Legacy Standard Bible
And Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Entreat for me."

Contemporary English Version
Then the king told him, "I'll let you go into the desert to offer sacrifices, if you don't go very far. But in the meantime, pray for me."

Complete Jewish Bible
But this time, too, Pharaoh made himself stubborn and didn't let the people go.

Darby Translation
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only, go not very far away: intreat for me!

Easy-to-Read Version
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go and offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now, go and pray for me."

English Standard Version
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me."

George Lamsa Translation
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away, and you must pray for me also.

Good News Translation
The king said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord , your God, in the desert, if you do not go very far. Pray for me."

Christian Standard Bible®
Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal for me.”

Literal Translation
And Pharaoh said, I will send you away, and you may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only do not go very far off. Pray for me.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Pharao sayde: I wil let you go, yt ye maie do sacrifice vnto the LORDE yor God in the wyldernes (onely yt ye go no farther) & praye for me.

American Standard Version
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

Bible in Basic English
Then Pharaoh said, I will let you go to make an offering to the Lord your God in the waste land; but do not go very far away, and make prayer for me.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Pharao sayd: I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice vnto the Lorde your God in the wyldernesse, but go not farre away: pray for me.

King James Version (1611)
And Pharaoh said, I wil let you goe that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God, in the wildernes: onely you shall not goe very farre away: intreate for me.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Pharao said, I will let you go, and do ye sacrifice to your God in the wilderness, but do not go very far away: pray then for me to the Lord.

English Revised Version
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

Berean Standard Bible
Pharaoh answered, "I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Farao seide, Y schal delyuere you, that ye make sacrifice to `youre Lord God in deseert; netheles go ye not ferthere; preie ye for me.

Young's Literal Translation
And Pharaoh saith, `I send you away, and ye have sacrificed to Jehovah your God in the wilderness, only go not very far off; make ye supplication for me;'

Update Bible Version
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

World English Bible
Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Pray for me."

New King James Version
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me."

New Living Translation
"All right, go ahead," Pharaoh replied. "I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don't go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me."

New Life Bible
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so you may give a gift to the Lord your God. But do not go very far away. Pray for me."

New Revised Standard
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, provided you do not go very far away. Pray for me."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Pharaoh: I, will let you go - so shall ye sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert, only ye shall not go a, very long, journey, - make ye entreaty for me.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Pharao said: I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but go no farther: pray for me.

Revised Standard Version
So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Make entreaty for me."

THE MESSAGE
Pharaoh said, "All right. I'll release you to go and sacrifice to your God in the wilderness. Only don't go too far. Now pray for me."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Make supplication for me."

Contextual Overview

²⁰ And the LORD did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses; and in all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by reason of the swarms of flies. ²¹ And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said: 'Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.' ²² And Moses said: 'It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God; lo, if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? ²³ We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as He shall command us.' ²⁴ And Pharaoh said: 'I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away; entreat for me.' ²⁵ And Moses said: 'Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.' ²⁶ And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD. ²⁷ And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. ²⁸ And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go. ²⁹span data-lang="eng" data-trans="jps" data-ref="exe.8.1" class="versetxt"> And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Say unto Aaron: Stretch forth thy hand with thy rod over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.' And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did in like manner with their secret arts, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said: 'Entreat the LORD, that He take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice unto the LORD.' And Moses said unto Pharaoh: 'Have thou this glory over me; against what time shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs be destroyed from thee and thy houses, and remain in the river only?' And he said: 'Against to-morrow.' And he said: 'Be it according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.' And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried unto the LORD concerning the frogs, which He had brought upon Pharaoh. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together in heaps; and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken. And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Say unto Aaron: Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.' And they did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and there were gnats upon man, and upon beast; all the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; and there were gnats upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh: 'This is the finger of God'; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken. And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him: Thus saith the LORD: Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Else, if thou wilt not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end that thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between My people and thy people--by to-morrow shall this sign be.' And the LORD did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses; and in all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by reason of the swarms of flies. And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said: 'Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.' And Moses said: 'It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God; lo, if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as He shall command us.' And Pharaoh said: 'I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away; entreat for me.' And Moses said: 'Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.' And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I will: Hosea 10:2

entreat: Exodus 8:8, Exodus 8:29, Exodus 9:28, Exodus 10:17, 1 Kings 13:6, Ezra 6:10, Ecclesiastes 6:10, Acts 8:24

Reciprocal: Exodus 10:18 - and entreated Exodus 10:24 - Go ye Exodus 12:32 - bless me Numbers 21:7 - pray Judges 11:8 - the elders 1 Samuel 5:7 - saw Jeremiah 37:3 - Pray Jeremiah 42:2 - and pray

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness,.... He does not say three days, though as he allowed them to go into the wilderness and sacrifice, they could not go and come again in less time; nor would Moses have accepted of the grant, as it seems by what follows he had, if he had obliged them to less time:

only you shall not go very far away; his meaning is, as Aben Ezra observes, that they should go no further than three days' journey; he was jealous that this was only an excuse to get entirely out of his dominions, and never return more. He might have heard of their claim to the land of Canaan, and of their talk, and hope, and expectation, of going and settling there; and so understood this motion of theirs, to have leave to go into the wilderness for three days, to sacrifice to the Lord, was only a pretence; that their real intention was to proceed on in their journey to Canaan; however, being in this great distress, he made as if he was willing to grant what they desired, and very importunately urged they would pray he might be delivered from this plague:

entreat for me; the words seem to be spoken in haste, and with great eagerness and vehemence.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 8:28. I will let you go only ye shall not go very far away — Pharaoh relented because the hand of God was heavy upon him; but he was not willing to give up his gain. The Israelites were very profitable to him; they were slaves of the state, and their hard labour was very productive: hence he professed a willingness, first to tolerate their religion in the land, (Exodus 8:25); or to permit them to go into the wilderness, so that they went not far away, and would soon return. How ready is foolish man, when the hand of God presses him sore, to compound with his Maker! He will consent to give up some sins, provided God will permit him to keep others.

Entreat for me. — Exactly similar to the case of Simon Magus, who, like Pharaoh, fearing the Divine judgments, begged an interest in the prayers of Peter, Acts 8:24.