Exodus 10:3
And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.
Study Note
Study Note
Moses and Aaron's question to Pharaoh — 'how long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me?' — frames the plagues not merely as natural disasters but as a divine demand for royal submission. The verb 'humble yourself' (anah — bow down, be afflicted) makes the plague narrative a contest about whether Pharaoh will acknowledge a superior Lord. The refusal to humble himself despite each plague confirms the hardening narrative of Exodus 4-14, where Pharaoh's pride progressively disqualifies him from the role of covenant partner. Paul cites Exodus 9:16 ('for this purpose I have raised you up') in Romans 9:17 to argue that even Pharaoh's stubbornness served a divine purpose of displaying God's power — a reading that subordinates imperial pride to divine sovereignty.
Other Translations
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.
And Moses cometh in--Aaron also--unto Pharaoh, and they say unto him, `Thus said Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, Until when hast thou refused to be humbled at My presence? send My people away, and they serve Me,
Then Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you be lifted up in your pride before me? let my people go so that they may give me worship.
Cross References
As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the …
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be …
Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil …
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn …
And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of …
His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places …
Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, …
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.