And the LORD hardened the heart is literally “And Yahweh made strong the heart,” which means that he “made the king stubborn” (Good News Translation). (This is the term discussed at 4.21.) Pharaoh king of Egypt is emphatic, showing that this was to be the last time, and that the great ruler of Egypt would be destroyed by Yahweh. A few translations have introduced the pluperfect to show that the heart of Pharaoh had already been made hard before verse 6. So New American Bible has “So obstinate had the LORD made Pharaoh that he pursued the Israelites” (similarly also Revised English Bible). One may also render this as “The LORD had made the king so obstinate that he….”

And he pursued the people of Israel means “he chased after the Israelites” (Durham). The word used to translate pursued should fit the context both of Israel being on the move as well as standing still. As they went forth defiantly is literally “and the sons of Israel were going out with a high hand.” This expression is found only here and in Num 15.30 (“with a high hand”) and 33.3 (“triumphantly”). It does not necessarily mean “high-handed,” which in English means overbearing or arbitrary. Revised English Bible uses defiantly, but New Revised Standard Version has changed defiantly to “boldly.” As the Good News Translation footnote suggests, this expression can also mean “under the protection of the LORD.” It is recommended that translators use the word “boldly” in the text, but include a footnote like Good News Translation‘s.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .