Exodus 9:2
New International Version
If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back,

New Living Translation
If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go,

English Standard Version
For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,

Berean Standard Bible
But if you continue to restrain them and refuse to let them go,

King James Bible
For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,

New King James Version
For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them,

New American Standard Bible
For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,

NASB 1995
“For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,

NASB 1977
“For if you refuse to let them go, and continue to hold them,

Legacy Standard Bible
For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,

Amplified Bible
But if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,

Christian Standard Bible
But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them,

American Standard Version
For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,

Contemporary English Version
If you keep refusing,

English Revised Version
For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them [in slavery],

Good News Translation
If you again refuse to let them go,

International Standard Version
But if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,

Majority Standard Bible
But if you continue to restrain them and refuse to let them go,

NET Bible
For if you refuse to release them and continue holding them,

New Heart English Bible
For if you refuse to let them go, and hold them still,

Webster's Bible Translation
For if thou shalt refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,

World English Bible
For if you refuse to let them go, and hold them still,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
for if you are refusing to send [them] away, and are still keeping hold on them,

Young's Literal Translation
for, if thou art refusing to send away, and art still keeping hold upon them,

Smith's Literal Translation
For if thou refusest to send forth, but yet thou holdest fast upon them,
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
But if thou refuse, and withhold them still:

Catholic Public Domain Version
But if you still refuse, and you retain them,

New American Bible
For if you refuse to let them go and persist in holding them,

New Revised Standard Version
For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For if you refuse to let them go (and until now you have withheld them),

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And if you choose not to send away, and until now you are holding onto them,
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
If however thou wilt not send my people away, but yet detainest them:

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Fifth Plague: Livestock
1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 2But if you continue to restrain them and refuse to let them go, 3then the hand of the LORD will bring a severe plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.…

Cross References
Exodus 5:1-2
After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” / But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

Exodus 7:16
Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.

Exodus 8:1-2
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. / But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.

Exodus 10:3-4
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. / But if you refuse to let My people go, I will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow.

Exodus 11:9-10
The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” / Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.

Exodus 14:17
And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen.

Deuteronomy 6:22
Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household.

Deuteronomy 7:19
the great trials that you saw, the signs and wonders, and the mighty hand and outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.

Deuteronomy 11:3-4
the signs and works He did in Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land; / what He did to the Egyptian army and horses and chariots when He made the waters of the Red Sea engulf them as they pursued you, and how He destroyed them completely, even to this day;

Psalm 78:43-51
when He performed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the fields of Zoan. / He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink. / He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them. ...

Psalm 105:27-36
They performed His miraculous signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. / He sent darkness, and it became dark—yet they defied His words. / He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die. ...

Psalm 135:8-9
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast. / He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.

Psalm 136:10-12
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt His loving devotion endures forever. / and brought Israel out from among them His loving devotion endures forever. / with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. His loving devotion endures forever.

Acts 7:36
He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.

Romans 9:17-18
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” / Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.


Treasury of Scripture

For if you refuse to let them go, and will hold them still,

Exodus 4:23
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.

Exodus 8:2
And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:

Exodus 10:4
Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:

Jump to Previous
Continue Hold Keeping Power Refuse Refusing Retain Wilt
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Continue Hold Keeping Power Refuse Refusing Retain Wilt
Exodus 9
1. The plague on livestock
8. The plague of boils
13. The message of Moses about the hail,
22. The plague of hail
27. Pharaoh pleads with Moses, but yet is hardened














But if you refuse
The phrase "But if you refuse" indicates a conditional statement, highlighting Pharaoh's potential choice to disobey God's command. The Hebrew root for "refuse" is "מָאֵן" (ma'en), which conveys a strong sense of willful disobedience or stubbornness. This reflects Pharaoh's hardened heart, a recurring theme in Exodus, where his refusal to heed God's warnings leads to severe consequences. Historically, this stubbornness is emblematic of the broader spiritual battle between God's will and human resistance.

to let them go
This phrase refers to God's command to Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. The Hebrew verb "שָׁלַח" (shalach) means "to send" or "to let go," emphasizing the act of liberation. The Israelites' release is central to God's covenantal promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it signifies a pivotal moment in salvation history. Theologically, this liberation prefigures the ultimate deliverance found in Christ, who frees humanity from the bondage of sin.

I will plague
The word "plague" comes from the Hebrew "נֶגַע" (nega), meaning a blow or affliction. This term underscores the severity of God's judgment against Egypt. The plagues serve as divine signs and wonders, demonstrating God's supremacy over the Egyptian gods and Pharaoh. They are not merely punitive but are intended to reveal God's power and compel Pharaoh to acknowledge Him as the one true God.

your whole country
The phrase "your whole country" indicates the comprehensive nature of the impending judgment. The Hebrew word for "country" is "אֶרֶץ" (eretz), which can mean land or earth. This suggests that the plague's impact will be widespread, affecting all of Egypt. Historically, Egypt was a powerful and prosperous nation, and the plagues systematically dismantle its economy, religion, and social order, showcasing God's dominion over all creation.

with frogs
Frogs, in the Egyptian context, were associated with the goddess Heqet, who was linked to fertility and childbirth. The Hebrew word for "frogs" is "צְפַרְדֵּעַ" (tsephardea). By sending a plague of frogs, God directly challenges the Egyptian pantheon, demonstrating His authority over their deities. This plague, like the others, serves as a sign of God's power and a call to repentance. Spiritually, it reminds believers of the futility of idolatry and the necessity of worshiping the one true God.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But
כִּ֛י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

if
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

you
אַתָּ֖ה (’at·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

refuse
מָאֵ֥ן (mā·’ên)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 3986: Unwilling

to let them go
לְשַׁלֵּ֑חַ (lə·šal·lê·aḥ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

and continue
וְעוֹדְךָ֖ (wə·‘ō·wḏ·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5750: Iteration, continuance, again, repeatedly, still, more

to restrain
מַחֲזִ֥יק (ma·ḥă·zîq)
Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 2388: To fasten upon, to seize, be strong, obstinate, to bind, restrain, conquer

them,
בָּֽם׃ (bām)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Law: Exodus 9:2 For if you refuse to let them (Exo. Ex)
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