Exodus 8 · Verse 26

Exodus 8:26

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, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
Exodus 8:26, King James Version

Exodus 8:26 in other translations

BSBBut Moses replied, “It would not be right to do that, because the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable before the Egyptians, will they not stone us?
WEBMoses said, “It isn’t appropriate to do so; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God. Behold, if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, won’t they stone us?
ASVAnd Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
YLTand Moses saith, ‘Not right to do so, for the abomination of the Egyptians we do sacrifice to Jehovah our God; lo, we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes--and they do not stone us!
DARBYAnd Moses said, It is not proper to do so; for we should sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God: lo, if we sacrificed the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, would they not stone us?
BBEAnd Moses said, It is not right to do so; for we make our offerings of that to which the Egyptians give worship; and if we do so before their eyes, certainly we will be stoned.
WebsterAnd Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: Lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?

What does Exodus 8:26 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 8:25-32

25-32. Pharaoh called for Moses, ... Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land, &c.--Between impatient anxiety to be freed from this scourge and a reluctance on the part of the Hebrew bondsmen, the king followed the course of expediency; he proposed to let them free to engage in their religious rites within any part of the kingdom. But true to his instructions, Moses would accede to no such arrangement; he stated a…

Read the full comment on Exodus 8:25-32 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 26 We shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians - That is, The animals which they hold sacred, and will not permit to be slain, are those which our customs require us to sacrifice to our God; and should we do this in Egypt the people would rise in a mass, and stone us to death. Perhaps few people were more superstitious than the Egyptians. Almost every production of nature was an object of their religious worship: the sun, moon, planets, stars, the river Nile, animals of all sorts, from the human being to the monkey, dog, cat, and ibis, and even the onions and leeks which grew in their gardens. Jupiter was adored by them under the form of a ram, Apollo under the form of a crow, Bacchus under that of a goat, and Juno under that of a heifer. The reason why the Egyptians worshipped those animals is given by Eusebius, viz., that when the giants made war on the gods, they were obliged to take refuge in Egypt, and assume the shapes or disguise themselves under different kinds of animals in order to escape. Jupiter hid himself in the body of a ram, Apollo in that of a crow, Bacchus in a goat, Diana in a cat, Juno in a white heifer, Venus in a fish, and Mercury in the bird ibis; all which are summoned up by Ovid in the following lines: - Duxque gregis fit Jupiter - Delius in corvo, proles Semeleia capro, Fele soror Phoebi, nivea Saturnia vacca, Pisce Venus latuit, Cyllenius ibidis alis. Metam., l. v., fab. v., 1. 326. How the gods fled to Egypt's slimy soil, And hid their heads beneath the banks of Nile; How Typhon from the conquer'd skies pursued Their routed godheads to the seven-mouth'd flood; Forced every god, his fury to escape, Some beastly form to take, or earthly shape. Jove, so she sung, was changed into a ram, From whence the horns of Libyan Ammon came; Bacchus a goat, Apollo was a crow, Phoebe a cat, the wife of Jove a cow, Whose hue was whiter than the falling snow; Mercury, to a nasty ibis turn'd, The change obscene, afraid of Typhon mourn'd, While Venus from a fish protection craves, And once more plunges in her native waves - Maynwaring. These animals therefore became sacred to them on account of the deities, who, as the fable reports, had taken refuge in them. Others suppose that the reason why the Egyptians would not sacrifice or kill those creatures was their belief in the doctrine of the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls; for they feared lest in killing an animal they should kill a relative or a friend. This doctrine is still held by the Hindoos.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 8:20-32

Pharaoh was early at his false devotions to the river; and shall we be for more sleep and more slumber, when any service to the Lord is to be done? The Egyptians and the Hebrews were to be marked in the plague of flies. The Lord knows them that are his, and will make it appear, perhaps in this world, certainly in the other, that he has set them apart for himself. Pharaoh unwillingly entered into a treaty with Moses…

Read the full comment on Exodus 8:20-32 →

Exodus 8:26 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.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
מֹשֶׁ֗הmo.ShehMosesH4872
לֹ֤אlo'notH3808
נָכוֹן֙na.khOn[is] establishedH3559
לַעֲשׂ֣וֹתla.'a.Sotto doH6213
כֵּ֔ןKenthusH3651
כִּ֚יkiforH3588
תּוֹעֲבַ֣תto.'a.Vat[the] abomination ofH8441
מִצְרַ֔יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4714
נִזְבַּ֖חniz.Bachwe will sacrificeH2076
לַיהוָ֣הla.Yah.wehto YahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ'e.lo.Hei.nuGod ourH430
הֵ֣ןhenhere!H2005
נִזְבַּ֞חniz.Bachwe will sacrificeH2076
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
תּוֹעֲבַ֥תto.'a.Vat[the] abomination ofH8441
מִצְרַ֛יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4714
לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖םle.'ei.nei.Hemto eyes theirH5869
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
יִסְקְלֻֽנוּ\׃yis.ke.Lu.nuwill they stone? usH5619

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

Cross references for Exodus 8:26

  • Genesis 43:32

    And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

  • Genesis 46:34

    That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

  • Isaiah 44:19

    And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?

  • 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.

  • 1 Kings 11:5-7

    For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.

  • 2 Kings 23:13

    And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

  • 2 Corinthians 6:14-17

    Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

  • Deuteronomy 12:30-31

    Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

  • Deuteronomy 7:25-26

    The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God. Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

  • Ezra 9:1

    Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
It is not.
3:18; 2Co 6:14-17
we shall.
Ge 43:32; 46:34; De 7:25,26; 12:30,31; Ezr 9:1; Isa 44:19
the abomination. i.e.,The animals which they worshipped; for an account of which, see note on ch. 9:3.
1Ki 11:5-7; 2Ki 23:13

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

Context

  • Exodus 8:25

    And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

  • Exodus 8:26

    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, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?

  • Exodus 8:27

    We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us.

Read all of Exodus 8

Exodus 8:26 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y Moisés respondió: No conviene que hagamos así, porque sacrificaríamos á Jehová nuestro Dios la abominación de los Egipcios. He aquí, si sacrificáramos la abominación de los Egipcios delante de ellos, ¿no nos apedrearían?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Moïse sortit d’auprès du Pharaon, et supplia l’ Éternel.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Mose sprach: Es geziemt sich nicht, also zu tun; denn wir würden Jehova, unserem Gott, der Ägypter Greuel opfern; siehe, opferten wir der Ägypter Greuel vor ihren Augen, würden sie uns nicht steinigen?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et ait Moyses: Non potest ita fieri: abominationes enim Ægyptiorum immolabimus Domino Deo nostro: quod si mactaverimus ea quæ colunt Ægyptii coram eis, lapidibus nos obruent.