Exodus 8:20

20 The Lord said to Moses, "Early tomorrow morning go and meet the king as he goes to the river, and tell him that the Lord says, "Let my people go, so that they can worship me.

Exodus 8:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 8:20

And the Lord said unto Moses, rise up early in the morning,
&c.] Of the day following, the twenty eight of Adar, or February, according to Bishop Usher; this was the fittest time to meet with Pharaoh, and the most likely to make impressions on him:

and stand before Pharaoh:
meet him as he comes along, and stop him, and stand before him as having something to say to him; this was using great boldness and freedom with a king; but as Moses was ordered to do it by the King of kings, it became him to obey him:

lo, he cometh forth to the water; (See Gill on Exodus 7:15)

and say unto him, thus saith the Lord, let my people go, that they may
serve me;
which had often been required before, but to no purpose, and in case of refusal he is threatened as follows.

Exodus 8:20 In-Context

18 The magicians tried to use their magic to make gnats appear, but they failed. There were gnats everywhere,

19 and the magicians said to the king, "God has done this!" But the king was stubborn and, just as the Lord had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

20 The Lord said to Moses, "Early tomorrow morning go and meet the king as he goes to the river, and tell him that the Lord says, "Let my people go, so that they can worship me.

21 I warn you that if you refuse, I will punish you by sending flies on you, your officials, and your people. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and the ground will be covered with them.

22 But I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live, so that there will be no flies there. I will do this so that you will know that I, the Lord, am at work in this land.