What Does Exodus 14:14 Mean?
Two renderings of the same sentence, the verses it belongs to, and what the passage is doing — so you can decide what it means rather than take someone's word for it.
"The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Exodus 14:14, King James Version
The same verse in modern English
"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”" Exodus 14:14, Berean Standard Bible
What it sits inside
A verse quoted on its own is the commonest way one gets misread. Here it is with what comes immediately before and after, in the King James Version.
Exodus 14:12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
Exodus 14:13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
Exodus 14:14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
Exodus 14:15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
Exodus 14:16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
A conversation built on it
The Israelites stood between an army and an ocean with nowhere to go. And God said, 'Stand still.' Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stop running and let Him open a path that doesn't exist yet.
Questions people ask
What does Exodus 14:14 mean?
In modern English (Berean Standard Bible) it reads: “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”” The King James rendering most people know is: “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”
What is the context of Exodus 14:14?
The verses immediately around it read: (Exodus 14:12) Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. (Exodus 14:13) And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. (Exodus 14:14) The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. (Exodus 14:15) And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: (Exodus 14:16) But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
How is Exodus 14:14 used in a conversation about this?
The Israelites stood between an army and an ocean with nowhere to go. And God said, 'Stand still.' Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stop running and let Him open a path that doesn't exist yet.
Reading it is one thing. Saying what it stirs up is another.
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