This verse consists of two rhetorical questions. The first question functions as a mild exhortation not to be stubborn as the Egyptians were. The second question functions to remind the people of what God had done. Translators will need to decide whether rhetorical questions will carry the correct meaning, or whether one or both of the questions should be turned into a statement, as Good News Translation does in the second case. In some languages it will be possible to keep the form of a question while making clear that the question is rhetorical; see, for example, Anchor Bible: “Is it not true that when [Yahweh] had had his way with them…?”

The question concerning the Egyptians and Pharaoh is an allusion to Exo 10.1-2. It will be recalled that Pharaoh is a title and not a proper noun. See the comments on 2.27.

Harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts: the expression harden your hearts means “to be stubborn” or “to not submit to God’s will,” and occurs frequently in Exodus (for example, Exo 8.15, 32; 9.34). Here it has been rendered “become stubborn” (New American Bible) and “stiffened themselves” (Moffatt). Other languages may say “refuse to heed God.”

After he had made sport of them: the verb in this clause has negative connotations. In other contexts it refers to arbitrary acts of humiliation, abuse (including sexual abuse), and cruelty. Some translations use a direct expression here such as “make fools of” (Good News Translation), “make a mockery of” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Others use more idiomatic expressions such as “Did he not toy with them?” (Klein) or “when he had had his way with them” (Anchor Bible). The translation of this clause must not give the impression that God was “playing” in a good-natured way with the Egyptians. Them refers to the people of Egypt, including their ruler, the Pharaoh. The people, on the other hand, is a reference to the Israelites.

Did not they let the people go, that is, “Did not the Egyptians and the king of Egypt let the Israelite people go?”

Let … go: the Hebrew verb may have a rather passive meaning as in Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, or a more active meaning “send away [or, send out]” as in New International Version, Klein, and La Bible Pléiade.

And they departed: as Good News Translation makes clear, they refers to the Israelites, who departed “from Egypt.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .