Exodus 3 · Verse 19

Exodus 3:19

And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
Exodus 3:19, King James Version

Exodus 3:19 in other translations

BSBBut I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.
WEBI know that the king of Egypt won’t give you permission to go, no, not by a mighty hand.
ASVAnd I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, no, not by a mighty hand.
YLT‘And I--I have known that the king of Egypt doth not permit you to go, unless by a strong hand,
DARBYBut I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a powerful hand.
BBEAnd I am certain that the king of Egypt will not let you go without being forced.
WebsterAnd I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

What does Exodus 3:19 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 19 I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand - When the facts detailed in this history have been considered in connection with the assertion as it stands in our Bibles, the most palpable contradiction has appeared. That the king of Egypt did let them go, and that by a mighty hand, the book itself amply declares. We should therefore seek for another meaning of the original word. ולא velo, which generally means and not, has sometimes the meaning of if not, unless, except, etc.; and in Becke's Bible, 1549, it is thus translated: I am sure that the kyng of Egypt wyl not let you go, Except wyth a mighty hand. This import of the negative particle, which is noticed by Noldius, Heb. Part., p. 328, was perfectly understood by the Vulgate, where it is translated nisi, unless; and the Septuagint in their εαν μη, which is of the same import; and so also the Coptic. The meaning therefore is very plain: The king of Egypt, who now profits much by your servitude, will not let you go till he sees my hand stretched out, and he and his nation be smitten with ten plagues. Hence God immediately adds, Exo 3:20 : I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders - and after that, he will let you go.

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…

Read the full comment on Exodus 3:16-22 →

Exodus 3:19 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.

וַאֲנִ֣יva.'a.Niand IH589
יָדַ֔עְתִּיya.Da'.tiI knowH3045
כִּ֠יkithatH3588
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
יִתֵּ֥ןyi.Tenhe will permitH5414
אֶתְכֶ֛ם'et.Khem<obj.> youH853
מֶ֥לֶךְMe.lekh[the] king ofH4428
מִצְרַ֖יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4714
לַהֲלֹ֑ךְla.ha.Lokhto goH1980
וְלֹ֖אve.Lo'and notH3808
בְּיָ֥דbe.Yadby a handH3027
חֲזָקָֽה\׃cha.za.KahstrongH2389

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

Cross references for Exodus 3:19

  • Exodus 5:2

    And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

  • Exodus 6:1

    Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.

  • Psalms 136:11-12

    And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever: With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.

  • Exodus 7:1-14

    And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. …

  • Isaiah 63:12-13

    That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
will not.
5:2; 7:4
no, not by a mighty hand. or, but by a strong hand.
6:1; 7:1-14:31; Ps 136:11,12; Isa 63:12,13

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

Context

  • Exodus 3:18

    And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.

  • Exodus 3:19

    And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

  • Exodus 3:20

    And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

Read all of Exodus 3

Exodus 3:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Mas yo sé que el rey de Egipto no os dejará ir sino por mano fuerte.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et je sais que le roi d’Égypte ne vous permettra pas de vous en aller, pas même contraint par main forte.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Aber ich weiß wohl, daß der König von Ägypten euch nicht ziehen lassen wird, auch nicht durch eine starke Hand.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Sed ego scio quod non dimittet vos rex Ægypti ut eatis nisi per manum validam.