3. But to you shall the strength of Pharaoh be shame. He now shews what shall be the end of the wicked, who despise God and his word, and follow those schemes which are most agreeable to their own views. All that they undertake shall tend to their ruin. He threatens not only that they shall be disappointed of their hope, but also that they are seeking with great toil, destruction and ruin, from which they will gain nothing but sorrow and disgrace. To all wicked men it must unavoidably happen that, although for a time they appear to gain their object, and though everything succeeds to their wish, yet in the end all shall be ruinous to them. It is the just reward of their rashness, when they go beyond the limits of the word; for nothing that has been acquired by wicked and unlawful methods can be of advantage to any person.
By way of admission he calls it “the strength of Pharaoh,” as if he had said, “You think that you gain much protection from Pharaoh, but it will yield you reproach and disgrace. The shadow of Egypt, by which you hoped to be covered, will make you blush for shame.” Accordingly, both expressions, “shame” and “disgrace,” have the same meaning; and as חרפה, ( chĕrpāh,) (287) reproach, is a stronger expression than “shame,” it is afterwards added for the purpose of bringing out the meaning more fully.
(287) Bogus footnote