Exodus 14 · Verse 4

Exodus 14:4

And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so.
Exodus 14:4, King James Version

Exodus 14:4 in other translations

BSBAnd I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.
WEBI will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them; and I will get honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” They did so.
ASVAnd I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he shall follow after them; and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host: and the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah. And they did so.
YLTand I have strengthened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hath pursued after them, and I am honoured on Pharaoh, and on all his force, and the Egyptians have known that I am Jehovah;' and they do so.
DARBYAnd I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he may pursue after them; and I will glorify myself in Pharaoh, and in all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah. And they did so.
BBEAnd I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, and he will come after them and I will be honoured over Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians may see that I am the Lord. And they did so.
WebsterAnd I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

What does Exodus 14:4 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 I will harden Pharaoh's heart - After relenting and giving them permission to depart, he now changes his mind and determines to prevent them; and without any farther restraining grace, God permits him to rush on to his final ruin, for the cup of his iniquity was now full.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 14:1-9

Pharaoh would think that all Israel was entangled in the wilderness, and so would become an easy prey. But God says, I will be honoured upon Pharaoh. All men being made for the honour of their Maker, those whom he is not honoured by, he will be honoured upon. What seems to tend to the church's ruin, is often overruled to the ruin of the church's enemies. While Pharaoh gratified his malice and revenge, he furthered…

Read the full comment on Exodus 14:1-9 →

Exodus 14:4 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.

וְחִזַּקְתִּ֣יve.chi.zak.Tiand I will make strongH2388
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
לֵב\־lev-[the] heart ofH3820
פַּרְעֹה֮par.'OhPharaohH6547
וְרָדַ֣ףve.ra.Dafand he will pursueH7291
אַחֲרֵיהֶם֒'a.cha.rei.Hemafter themH310
וְאִכָּבְדָ֤הve.'i.ka.ve.Dahand I will gain honorH3513
בְּפַרְעֹה֙be.far.'Ohby PharaohH6547
וּבְכָל\־u.ve.Khol-and by allH3605
חֵיל֔וֹchei.Loarmy hisH2428
וְיָדְע֥וּve.ya.de.'Uand they will knowH3045
מִצְרַ֖יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4713
כִּֽי\־ki-thatH3588
אֲנִ֣י'a.NiIH589
יְהוָ֑הYah.weh[am] YahwehH3068
וַיַּֽעֲשׂוּ\־vai.ya.'a.su-and they didH6213
כֵֽן\׃KhensoH3651

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

Cross references for Exodus 14:4

  • Romans 9:22-23

    What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

  • Exodus 7:5

    And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.

  • Romans 9:17

    For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

  • Exodus 7:3

    And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

  • Exodus 9:16

    And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

  • Ezekiel 28:22

    And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.

  • Exodus 7:17

    Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

  • Exodus 4:21-31

    And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. …

  • Romans 11:8

    (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

  • Nehemiah 9:10

    And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day.

  • Ezekiel 20:9

    But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

  • Exodus 14:17-18

    And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
harden.
8,17; 4:21-31; 7:3,13,14; Ro 11:8
I will be.
18; 9:16; 15:10,11,14-16; 18:11; Ne 9:10; Isa 2:11,12; Eze 20:9
Eze 28:22; 39:13; Da 4:30-37; Ro 9:17,22,23; Re 19:1-6
that the Egyptians.
7:5,17

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

Context

  • Exodus 14:3

    For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

  • Exodus 14:4

    And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

  • Exodus 14:5

    And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

Read all of Exodus 14

Exodus 14:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y yo endureceré el corazón de Faraón para que los siga; y seré glorificado en Faraón y en todo su ejército; y sabrán los Egipcios que yo soy Jehová. Y ellos lo hicieron así.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et j’endurcirai le cœur du Pharaon, et il les poursuivra: et je serai glorifié dans le Pharaon et en toute son armée; et les Égyptiens sauront que je suis l’ Éternel. Et ils firent ainsi.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und ich will das Herz des Pharao verhärten, daß er ihnen nachjage; und ich will mich verherrlichen an dem Pharao und an seiner ganzen Heeresmacht, und die Ägypter sollen erkennen, daß ich Jehova bin. Und sie taten also.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et indurabo cor ejus, ac persequetur vos: et glorificabor in Pharaone, et in omni exercitu ejus; scientque Ægyptii quia ego sum Dominus. Feceruntque ita.