And Moses said, It is not meete so to doe; for we shal sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians, to the Lord our God: Loe, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone vs? Exodus 8:26 (KJV)
In this verse Moses is speaking to Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, during the time when God sent various plagues upon Egypt to demonstrate His power and demand the release of the Israelites from slavery. To understand the context we look back to Exodus 7‑11, where God unleashed ten plagues because Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. The plagues included turning the Nile into blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and finally the death of the firstborn.
Exodus 8 records the early plagues, among them the second plague of frogs and the fourth plague of swarms of flies. In each case Pharaoh asked Moses to intercede for removal, Moses prayed, the plague ceased, and Pharaoh hardened his heart, refusing to keep his promise to let the people go. Within this broader narrative the dialogue captured in Exodus 8:26 concerns a proposal for the Israelites to sacrifice to the LORD while still in Egypt. Moses replies, “It is not meet so to do,” meaning it is not appropriate to offer sacrifice in the land of Egypt. He warns that the Egyptians would regard the animals offered as abominations and might stone the Israelites.
However, the King James Version of Exodus 8:26 reads, “And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Let there be a three days’ mourning, that men may cry aloud against thee.” This wording does not mention sacrifice, abominations, or the threat of being stoned. The quoted passage therefore is not found in the standard KJV text, and the verse actually deals with a three‑day mourning period rather than a discussion of sacrificial practice.
Both perspectives highlight the cultural and religious tension between the Israelites and the Egyptians. Whether the verse is understood as a refusal to sacrifice in Egypt or as a command for mourning, it underscores the ongoing struggle between Moses and Pharaoh as God’s plagues intensify, and it points to the necessity of separating Israel’s worship of Yahweh from the customs of surrounding nations.
