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Exodus 9:4-6
New English Translation
Exodus 9:4-6
New English Translation
4 But the Lord will distinguish[a] between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing[b] will die of all that the Israelites have.”’”[c]
5 The Lord set[d] an appointed time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this[e] in the land.” 6 And the Lord did this[f] on the next day;[g] all[h] the livestock of the Egyptians[i] died, but of the Israelites’ livestock not one died.
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- Exodus 9:4 tn The verb פָּלָה (palah) in Hiphil means “to set apart, make separate, make distinct.” See also Exod 8:22 (18 HT); 11:7; 33:16.
- Exodus 9:4 tn There is a wordplay in this section. A pestilence—דֶּבֶר (dever)—will fall on Egypt’s cattle, but no thing—דָּבָר (davar)—belonging to Israel would die. It was perhaps for this reason that the verb was changed in v. 1 from “say” to “speak” (דִּבֶּר, dibber). See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 111.
- Exodus 9:4 tn The ל (lamed) preposition indicates possession: “all that was to the Israelites” means “all that the Israelites had.”
- Exodus 9:5 tn Heb “and Yahweh set.”
- Exodus 9:5 tn Heb “this thing.”
- Exodus 9:6 tn Heb “this thing.”
- Exodus 9:6 tn Heb “on the morrow.”
- Exodus 9:6 tn The word “all” clearly does not mean “all” in the exclusive sense, because subsequent plagues involve cattle. The word must denote such a large number that whatever was left was insignificant for the economy. It could also be taken to mean “all [kinds of] livestock died.”
- Exodus 9:6 tn Heb “of Egypt.” The place is put by metonymy for the inhabitants.
New English Translation (NET)
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