Exodus 8:8

8:8 Then Pharaoh summoned ¹  Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray ²  to the Lord that he may take the frogs away ³  from me and my people, and I will release ⁴  the people that they may sacrifice ⁵  to the Lord.”

Exodus 9:28

9:28 Pray to the Lord, for the mighty ⁶  thunderings and hail are too much! ⁷  I will release you and you will stay no longer.” ⁸ 

Exodus 9:1

The Fifth Blow: Disease

9:1 ⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Release my people that they may serve me!

Exodus 13:6

13:6 For seven days ¹⁰  you must eat ¹¹  bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day there is to be ¹²  a festival to the Lord.

Isaiah 26:16

26:16 O Lord, in distress they looked for you;

they uttered incantations because of your discipline. ¹³ 

Romans 15:30

15:30 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁴  through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to join fervently with me in prayer to God on my behalf.

Acts 8:24

8:24 But Simon replied, ¹⁵  “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to ¹⁶  me.”

[8:8]  ¹ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the lamed (ל) preposition has the meaning “to summon.”

[8:8]  ² tn The verb הַעְתִּירוּ (ha’tiru) is the Hiphil imperative of the verb עָתַר (’atar). It means “to pray, supplicate,” or “make supplication” – always addressed to God. It is often translated “entreat” to reflect that it is a more urgent praying.

[8:8]  ³ tn This form is the jussive with a sequential vav that provides the purpose of the prayer: pray…that he may turn away the frogs.

[8:8]  ⁴ tn The form is the Piel cohortative וַאֲשַׁלְּחָה (va’ashallÿkhah) with the vav (ו) continuing the sequence from the request and its purpose. The cohortative here stresses the resolve of the king: “and (then) I will release.”

[8:8]  ⁵ tn Here also the imperfect tense with the vav (ו) shows the purpose of the release: “that they may sacrifice.”

[9:28]  ⁶ sn The text has Heb “the voices of God.” The divine epithet can be used to express the superlative (cf. Jonah 3:3).

[9:28]  ⁷ tn The expression וְרַב מִהְיֹת (vÿrav mihyot, “[the mighty thunder and hail] is much from being”) means essentially “more than enough.” This indicates that the storm was too much, or, as one might say, “It is enough.”

[9:28]  ⁸ tn The last clause uses a verbal hendiadys: “you will not add to stand,” meaning “you will no longer stay.”

[9:1]  ⁹ sn This plague demonstrates that Yahweh has power over the livestock of Egypt. He is able to strike the animals with disease and death, thus delivering a blow to the economic as well as the religious life of the land. By the former plagues many of the Egyptian religious ceremonies would have been interrupted and objects of veneration defiled or destroyed. Now some of the important deities will be attacked. In Goshen, where the cattle are merely cattle, no disease hits, but in the rest of Egypt it is a different matter. Osiris, the savior, cannot even save the brute in which his own soul is supposed to reside. Apis and Mnevis, the ram of Ammon, the sheep of Sais, and the goat of Mendes, perish together. Hence, Moses reminds Israel afterward, “On their gods also Yahweh executed judgments” (Num 33:4). When Jethro heard of all these events, he said, “Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods” (Exod 18:11).

[13:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Seven days.”

[13:6]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect tense functions with the nuance of instruction or injunction. It could also be given an obligatory nuance: “you must eat” or “you are to eat.” Some versions have simply made it an imperative.

[13:6]  ¹² tn The phrase “there is to be” has been supplied.

[26:16]  ¹³ tn The meaning of this verse is unclear. It appears to read literally, “O Lord, in distress they visit you, they pour out [?] an incantation, your discipline to them.” פָּקַד (paqad) may here carry the sense of “seek with interest” (cf. Ezek 23:21 and BDB 823 s.v.) or “seek in vain” (cf. Isa 34:16), but it is peculiar for the Lord to be the object of this verb. צָקוּן (tsaqun) may be a Qal perfect third plural form from צוּק (tsuq, “pour out, melt”), though the verb is not used of pouring out words in its two other occurrences. Because of the appearance of צַר (tsar, “distress”) in the preceding line, it is tempting to emend the form to a noun and derive it from צוּק (“be in distress”) The term לַחַשׁ (lakhash) elsewhere refers to an incantation (Isa 3:3; Jer 8:17; Eccl 10:11) or amulet (Isa 3:20). Perhaps here it refers to ritualistic prayers or to magical incantations used to ward off evil.

[15:30]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[8:24]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Simon answered and said.”

[8:24]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “may come upon.”