Exodus 3 · Verse 16

Exodus 3:16

Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
Exodus 3:16, King James Version

Exodus 3:16 in other translations

BSBGo, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
WEBGo and gather the elders of Israel together, and tell them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.
ASVGo, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
YLT‘Go, and thou hast gathered the elders of Israel, and hast said unto them: Jehovah, God of your fathers, hath appeareth unto me, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I have certainly inspected you, and that which is done to you in Egypt;
DARBYGo and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, Jehovah the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying, I have indeed visited you, and seen that which is done unto you in Egypt;
BBEGo and get together the chiefs of the children of Israel, and say to them, The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has been seen by me, and has said, Truly I have taken up your cause, because of what is done to you in Egypt;
WebsterGo and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.

What does Exodus 3:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 3:10-22

10-22. Come now therefore, and I will send thee--Considering the patriotic views that had formerly animated the breast of Moses, we might have anticipated that no mission could have been more welcome to his heart than to be employed in the national emancipation of Israel. But he evinced great reluctance to it and stated a variety of objections [Ex 3:11, 13; 4:1, 10] all of which were successfully met and…

Read the full comment on Exodus 3:10-22 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 Elders of Israel - Though it is not likely the Hebrews were permitted to have any regular government at this time, yet there can be no doubt of their having such a government in the time of Joseph, and for some considerable time after; the elders of each tribe forming a kind of court of magistrates, by which all actions were tried, and legal decisions made, in the Israelitish community. I have surely visited you - An exact fulfillment of the prediction of Joseph, Gen 50:24, God will surely visit you, and in the same words too.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 3:16-22
Moses' success with the elders of Israel would be good. God, who, by his grace, inclines the heart, and opens the ear, could say beforehand, They shall hearken to thy voice; for he would make them willing in this day of power. As to Pharaoh, Moses is here told that petitions and persuasions, and humble complaints, would not prevail with him; nor a mighty hand stretched out in signs and wonders. But those will certainly be broken by the power of God's hand, who will not bow to the power of his word. Pharaoh's people should furnish Israel with riches at their departure. In Pharaoh's tyranny and Israel's oppression, we see the miserable, abject state of sinners. However galling the yoke, they drudge on till the Lord sends redemption. With the invitations of the gospel, God sends the teaching of his Spirit. Thus are men made willing to seek and to strive for deliverance. Satan loses his power to hold them, they come forth with all they have and are, and apply all to the glory of God and the service of his church.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Exodus 3:16 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.

לֵ֣ךְlekhgoH1980
וְאָֽסַפְתָּ֞ve.'a.saf.Taand you will gatherH622
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
זִקְנֵ֣יzik.Nei[the] elders ofH2205
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
וְאָמַרְתָּ֤ve.'a.mar.Taand you will sayH559
אֲלֵהֶם֙'a.le.Hemto themH413
יְהוָ֞הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֵ֤י'e.lo.Hei[the] God ofH430
אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶם֙'a.vo.tei.Khemancestors yourH1
נִרְאָ֣הnir.'Ahhe appearedH7200
אֵלַ֔י'e.Laito meH413
אֱלֹהֵ֧י'e.lo.Hei[the] God ofH430
אַבְרָהָ֛ם'av.ra.HamAbrahamH85
יִצְחָ֥קyitz.ChakIsaacH3327
וְיַעֲקֹ֖בve.ya.'a.Koand JacobH3290
לֵאמֹ֑רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
פָּקֹ֤דpa.Kodcertainly <to observe>H6485
פָּקַ֙דְתִּי֙pa.Kad.tiI have observedH6485
אֶתְכֶ֔ם'et.Khem<obj.> youH853
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הֶעָשׂ֥וּיhe.'a.Suithe [thing] doneH6213
לָכֶ֖םla.Khemto <the> you
בְּמִצְרָֽיִם\׃be.mitz.Ra.yimin EgyptH4714

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

Cross references for Exodus 3:16

  • Psalms 8:4

    What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

  • Exodus 4:31

    And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

  • Exodus 4:29

    And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:

  • Genesis 50:24

    And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

  • Acts 15:14

    Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

  • Exodus 3:2

    And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

  • Exodus 4:5

    That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

  • Luke 19:44

    And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

  • 1 Peter 2:12

    Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

  • 1 Peter 5:1

    The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

  • Genesis 21:1

    And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

  • Matthew 26:3

    Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
elders.
4:29; 18:12; 24:11; Ge 1:7; Mt 26:3; Ac 11:30; 20:17; 1Pe 5:1
visited.
2:25; 4:31; 13:19; 15:14; Ge 21:1; 50:24; Ru 1:6; Ps 8:4; Lu 1:68
Lu 19:44; Ac 15:14; Heb 2:6,7; 1Pe 2:12

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

Context

  • Exodus 3:15

    And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

  • Exodus 3:16

    Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

  • Exodus 3:17

    And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

Read all of Exodus 3

Exodus 3:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Ve, y junta los ancianos de Israel, y diles: Jehová, el Dios de vuestros padres, el Dios de Abraham, de Isaac, y de Jacob, me apareció, diciendo: De cierto os he visitado, y visto lo que se os hace en Egipto;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Va, et assemble les anciens d’Israël, et dis-leur: L’ Éternel, le Dieu de vos pères, m’est apparu, le Dieu d’Abraham, d’Isaac, et de Jacob, disant: Certainement je vous ai visités, et j’ai vu ce qu’on vous fait en Égypte;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Gehe hin und versammle die Ältesten Israels und sprich zu ihnen: Jehova, der Gott eurer Väter, ist mir erschienen, der Gott Abrahams, Isaaks und Jakobs, und hat gesagt: Angesehen habe ich euch, und was euch in Ägypten geschehen ist,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Vade, et congrega seniores Israël, et dices ad eos: Dominus Deus patrum vestrorum apparuit mihi, Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac et Deus Jacob, dicens: Visitans visitavi vos: et vidi omnia quæ acciderunt vobis in Ægypto.