This verse is similar to verse 23 and may be treated similarly in translation: “Because Moses trusted God, he did not fear the king’s anger, but left Egypt.” The king is “Pharaoh”; see comment on verse 24.

Commentators discuss whether this verse refers to (a) Moses’ running away from Egypt after killing an Egyptian (see Exo 2.11-15), or (b) the exodus of Israel as a whole from Egypt (see Exo 12.51). This problem affects the translation of the second part of the verse, especially he refused to turn back. The difficulty with (a) is that Exodus 2.14 says that Moses was afraid, and 2.15 states that Pharaoh tried to kill him. The difficulty with (b) is that the Israelites, as distinct from Moses himself, are not mentioned in this passage until verses 28-29. Moffatt‘s solution is to take verse 27 as referring to Exodus 2, but as modifying or explaining Exodus 2.14: “It was by faith that he left Egypt—not from any fear of the king’s wrath.”

It was Moses’ faith which not only made him leave Egypt but made it possible for him to be unafraid of the king’s anger. This may be expressed as “Because Moses trusted God, he left Egypt; he was not afraid of the king who was angry” or “… he was not afraid even though the king was angry.” This use of two statements side by side may be natural in languages which do not employ a preposition combined with a participial phrase, such as without combined with being afraid of the king’s anger.

The invisible God: God, once more, is implied. Moffatt contrasts the visible, angry king of Egypt and the invisible king in heaven, and translates “the King Invisible.” This does not seem necessary, and one would expect such a contrast to be stated explicitly. As though correctly implies that Moses did not in fact see God. The invisible God may be rendered as “the God whom no one can see.” The clause which Good News Translation translates he refused to turn back has been understood in various ways:
(a) Good News Bible fits in better with a reference to the Exodus proper, rather than to Moses’ flight after killing the Egyptian. Exodus 16.3 and other passages refer to difficulties which could have led the Israelites to turn back and return to Egypt.
(b) Many modern translations give a more general meaning, such as “He held inflexibly to his chosen course” (Barclay), leaving it open whether the “course” was a literal journey or a plan of action. Similar are Bijbel in Gewone Taal “he carried through, persevered”; Bible en français courant “he remained firm”; Segond, Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “he held firm”; Jerusalem Bible and Translator’s New Testament “he held to his purpose.”
(c) A few translations reemphasize Moses’ fearlessness at this point: Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “that gave him courage”; Moffatt “he never flinched.”
(d) Older German translations (Luther 1984 and Zürcher Bibel) link Moses’ endurance directly with seeing the invisible: “he held on to the one whom he did not see, as if he saw him.”
(e) There is some evidence that the verb can mean “fix one’s eyes upon,” and although this meaning is not adopted by translations consulted, it would fit in well with verse 26, he kept his eyes on the future reward, and with 12.2.

On the whole, interpretation (b) seems the most probable, but since we do not know to which incident the verse refers, it is impossible to be certain.

The relation between As though he saw the invisible God and he refused to turn back may seem complicated, for the first clause did not happen, while the second clause did happen; yet the first clause expresses cause, while the second expresses result. This may be expressed as “It was as though Moses saw the invisible God and so refused to turn back,” “… he refused to change his course,” or “… he continued straight ahead.” In some languages the two clauses are inverted in order, but the difference between what did happen and what did not happen must be maintained; for example, “Moses refused to turn back, as though he saw the invisible God.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .