The Meaning of Exodus 5:21 Explained

Exodus 5:21

KJV: And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

YLT: and say unto them, 'Jehovah look upon you, and judge, because ye have caused our fragrance to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants -- to give a sword into their hand to slay us.'

Darby: And they said to them, Jehovah look upon you and judge, that ye have made our odour to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his bondmen, putting a sword into their hand to kill us!

ASV: and they said unto them, Jehovah look upon you, and judge: because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they said  unto them, The LORD  look  upon you, and judge;  because ye have made our savour  to be abhorred  in the eyes  of Pharaoh,  and in the eyes  of his servants,  to put  a sword  in their hand  to slay  us. 

What does Exodus 5:21 Mean?

Context Summary

Exodus 5:15-23 - Moses Appeals From Pharaoh To God
God's way is to bring men to an end of themselves before He arises to their help. Our efforts to deliver ourselves only end in increasing our perplexities. The tale of bricks is doubled; the burdens augment; the strength of our purpose is broken; we are brought to the edge of despair. Probably this was the darkest hour in the life of the great leader. But from all the obloquy that was heaped on him, he took refuge in God. There is no other refuge for a limited man than "to return unto the Lord," Exodus 5:22. Return unto the Lord with your story of failure! Return unto Him for fresh instructions! Return unto Him with your appeal for his interposition! Be perfectly natural with your Heavenly Father! Humble yourself under His mighty hand! Even dare to reason with Him, saying: "Why!" Then the Lord will say to you, as to Moses: "Now thou shalt see what I will do." [source]

Chapter Summary: Exodus 5

1  Pharaoh chides Moses and Aaron for their message
6  He increases the Israelites' task
16  He ignores their complaints
19  They cry out to Moses and Aaron
22  Moses complains to God

What do the individual words in Exodus 5:21 mean?

And they said to them let look Yahweh on you and judge because to be abhorred - [you have made] our savor in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants to put a sword in their hand to kill us
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם יֵ֧רֶא יְהוָ֛ה עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם וְיִשְׁפֹּ֑ט אֲשֶׁ֧ר הִבְאַשְׁתֶּ֣ם אֶת־ רֵיחֵ֗נוּ בְּעֵינֵ֤י פַרְעֹה֙ וּבְעֵינֵ֣י עֲבָדָ֔יו לָֽתֶת־ חֶ֥רֶב בְּיָדָ֖ם לְהָרְגֵֽנוּ

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ  And  they  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲלֵהֶ֔ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
יֵ֧רֶא  let  look 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Jussive, third person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
יְהוָ֛ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם  on  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
וְיִשְׁפֹּ֑ט  and  judge 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁפַט  
Sense: to judge, govern, vindicate, punish.
אֲשֶׁ֧ר  because 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הִבְאַשְׁתֶּ֣ם  to  be  abhorred 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: בָּאַשׁ  
Sense: to have a bad smell, stink, smell bad.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
רֵיחֵ֗נוּ  [you  have  made]  our  savor 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common plural
Root: רֵיחַ  
Sense: scent, fragrance, aroma, odour.
בְּעֵינֵ֤י  in  the  sight 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, cdc
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
פַרְעֹה֙  of  Pharaoh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פַּרְעֹה  
Sense: the common title of the king of Egypt.
וּבְעֵינֵ֣י  and  in  the  sight 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, cdc
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
עֲבָדָ֔יו  of  his  servants 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עֶבֶד  
Sense: slave, servant.
לָֽתֶת־  to  put 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
חֶ֥רֶב  a  sword 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
בְּיָדָ֖ם  in  their  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
לְהָרְגֵֽנוּ  to  kill  us 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, first person common plural
Root: הָרַג  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.