Exodus 14:13

Summary

Moses addresses the people with a command not to fear, followed by two imperatives to stand firm and to see the deliverance that Yehovah will bring about. The verse closes with a statement that the Egyptians they see "this day" will never be seen again.

Key words

• ti.ra.'U ("you be afraid", H3372G) — qal jussive, second person plural: a negated volitional form ('al + jussive) expressing a prohibition softer in form than a flat imperative, addressed to the whole group.
• hit.yatz.Vu ("stand firm", H3320) — hithpael imperative: the reflexive/intensive stem suggests the people are to position or establish themselves firmly, not merely stop moving.
• ye.shu.'At ("[the] deliverance of", H3444) — feminine singular construct: grammatically bound to the following noun Yehovah, forming "deliverance of Yehovah" rather than a generic noun.
• ya.'a.Seh ("he will bring about", H6213A) — qal imperfect: marks incomplete/future action, situating the deliverance as something still to occur "this day."
• to.Si.fu ("you will repeat", H3254G) — hiphil imperfect: the causative stem of "to add" combined with the infinitive r.'o.Ta ("to see", H7200G) produces the idiom "you will not add to see," i.e., "you will not see again."

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative va-yo.mer ("and he said", H0559/H9001) introducing direct speech from mo.Sheh ("Moses", H4872) to ha-'Am ("the people", H9009/H5971A). The prohibition 'al-ti.ra.'U uses the negation 'al (H0408) with a jussive verb form rather than the more absolute lo' + imperfect, a construction typically used for immediate, situational commands. This is followed by two plain imperatives in sequence, hit.yatz.Vu ("stand firm") and u-re.'U ("and see"), both second person masculine plural, giving the instruction a rapid, direct cadence.

The object of "seeing" is 'et-ye.shu.'At Yehovah ("the deliverance of Yehovah"), a construct chain marked by the untranslated direct object particle 'et (H0853). The relative clause 'a.sher-ya.'a.Seh la.Khem ha-Yom ("which he will bring about for you this day") uses the imperfect ya.'a.Seh, placing the action as yet unrealized at the moment of speaking.

The final clause pivots on Ki (H3588A), here functioning as a subordinating/causal or conditional particle ("for" or "because"), followed by a second relative clause with the perfect verb re.'i.Tem ("you have seen", completed aspect) describing the Egyptians already observed "this day" (ha-Yom). The concluding negation lo' to.Si.fu li-r.'o.Tam od ("you will not add to see them again") combines the hiphil to.Si.fu with the infinitive li-r.'o.Tam, an idiomatic Hebrew construction for expressing "never again," reinforced by 'ad-o.Lam ("until perpetuity", H5704/H5769G).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ye.shu.'At Yehovah ("deliverance of Yehovah") as τὴν σωτηρίαν τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ("the salvation from God"), shifting the construct relationship into a prepositional phrase and using θεοῦ ("God") where the Hebrew has the divine name Yehovah. The Vulgate renders the same phrase as "magnalia Domini" ("great works of the Lord"), a broader term than the Hebrew ye.shu.'At ("deliverance"). The Hebrew Ki introducing the final clause is rendered by the LXX with γάρ ("for"), while the Vulgate uses "enim" ("for"), both preserving a causal sense not always rendered as such in English translations like BSB, which uses "for."