Exodus 14:3 (GNV)

Passage

For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are tangled in the land: the wildernesse hath shut them in.

Nearby Context

Exodus 14:1 Then the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

Exodus 14:2 Speake to the children of Israel, that they returne and campe before Pi-hahiroth, betweene Migdol and the Sea, ouer against Baal-zephon: about it shall ye campe by the Sea.

Exodus 14:3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are tangled in the land: the wildernesse hath shut them in.

Exodus 14:4 And I will harden Pharaohs heart that hee shall follow after you: so I will get mee honour vpon Pharaoh, and vpon all his hoste: the Egyptians also shall knowe that I am the Lord: and they did so.

Exodus 14:5 Then it was told the King of Egypt, that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his seruants was turned against the people, and they sayde, Why haue we this done, and haue let Israel go out of our seruice?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "pharaoh", "children", "israel", "tangled", "land", "wildernesse", "hath", and "shut". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "pharaoh" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Speake to the children of Israel that..." into verse 4's "And I will harden Pharaohs heart that...", so "pharaoh" and "children" belong inside that flow. In Exodus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "pharaoh" and "children" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.