Exodus 12 · Verse 30

Exodus 12:30

And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

Exodus 12:30, King James Version

Exodus 12:30 in other translations

BSB	During the night Pharaoh got up—he and all his officials and all the Egyptians—and there was loud wailing in Egypt; for there was no house without someone dead.
WEB	Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
ASV	And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
YLT	And Pharaoh riseth by night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians, and there is a great cry in Egypt, for there is not a house where there is not one dead,
DARBY	And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his bondmen, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house in which there was not one dead.
BBE	Then Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and a great cry went up from Egypt; for there was not a house where someone was not dead.
Webster	And Pharaoh rose in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt: for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

What does Exodus 12:30 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

30. there was not a house where there was not one dead--Perhaps this statement is not to be taken absolutely. The Scriptures frequently use the words "all," "none," in a comparative sense--and so in this case. There would be many a house in which there would be no child, and many in which the first-born might be already dead. What is to be understood is, that almost every house in Egypt had a death in it.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 30 There was a great cry - No people in the universe were more remarkable for their mournings than the Egyptians, especially in matters of religion; they whipped, beat, tore themselves, and howled in all the excess of grief. When a relative died, the people left the house, ran into the streets, and howled in the most lamentable and frantic manner. See Diod. Sicul., lib. i., and Herod., lib. ii., c. 85, 86. And this latter author happening to be in Egypt on one of their solemnities, saw myriads of people whipping and beating themselves in this manner, lib. ii., c. 60; and see Mr. Bryant on the Plagues of Egypt, where many examples are given, p. 162, etc. How dreadful then must the scene of horror and distress appear when there was not one house or family in Egypt where there was not one dead; and according to their custom, all the family running out into the streets bewailing this calamity!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 12:29-36

The Egyptians had been for three days and nights kept in anxiety and horror by the darkness; now their rest is broken by a far more terrible calamity. The plague struck their first-born, the joy and hope of their families. They had slain the Hebrews' children, now God slew theirs. It reached from the throne to the dungeon: prince and peasant stand upon the same level before God's judgments. The destroying angel…

Read the full comment on Exodus 12:29-36 →

Exodus 12:30 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיָּ֨קָםvai.Ya.komand he aroseH6965

פַּרְעֹ֜הpar.'OhPharaohH6547

לַ֗יְלָהLay.lahnightH3915

ה֤וּאhu'heH1931

וְכָל\־ve.kholand allH3605

עֲבָדָיו֙'a.va.Davservants hisH5650

וְכָל\־ve.kholand allH3605

מִצְרַ֔יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4714

וַתְּהִ֛יva.te.Hiand it wasH1961

צְעָקָ֥הtze.'a.Kaha cryH6818

גְדֹלָ֖הge.do.LahgreatH1419

בְּמִצְרָ֑יִםbe.mitz.Ra.yimin EgyptH4714

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588

אֵ֣ין'einthere notH369

בַּ֔יִתBa.yit[was] a houseH1004

אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhereH834

אֵֽין\־'ein-there notH369

שָׁ֖םshamthereH8033

מֵֽת\׃Met[was] a dead [person]H4191

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 12:30

Exodus 11:6
And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
Amos 5:17
And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord.
James 2:13
For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Matthew 25:6
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Proverbs 21:13
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

and there was a great cry.No people were more remarkable and frantic in their mournings than the Egyptians. When a relative died, every one left the house, and the women, with their hair loose, and their bosoms bare, ran wild about the street. The men also, with their apparel equally disordered, kept them company; all shrieking, howling, and beating themselves. What a scene of horror and distress must now have presented itself, when there was not a family in Egypt where there was not one dead!
11:6; Pr 21:13; Am 5:17; Mt 25:6; Jas 2:13

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Exodus 12:29
And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
Exodus 12:30
And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
Exodus 12:31
And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.

Read all of Exodus 12

Exodus 12:30 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y levantóse aquella noche Faraón, él y todos sus siervos, y todos los Egipcios; y había un gran clamor en Egipto, porque no había casa donde no hubiese muerto.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et le Pharaon se leva de nuit, lui et tous ses serviteurs, et toute l’Égypte; et il y eut un grand cri en Égypte, car il n’y avait pas de maison où il n’y eût un mort.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und der Pharao stand in der Nacht auf, er und alle seine Knechte und alle Ägypter, und es entstand ein großes Geschrei in Ägypten; denn es war kein Haus, worin nicht ein Toter war.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Surrexitque Pharao nocte, et omnes servi ejus, cunctaque Ægyptus: et ortus est clamor magnus in Ægypto: neque enim erat domus in qua non jaceret mortuus.