With this verse we must assume that Moses followed Yahweh’s instructions in verse 13 and actually spoke all of 9.13-19 in the presence of the Pharaoh. This action is not stated in the text, but it is implied. Then he who feared is a participle in Hebrew, meaning “the fearer of.” The “fearers” were probably those among the servants of Pharaoh who also heard what Moses had said. They were not slaves but were “the king’s officials” (Good News Translation). And as “Pharaoh’s courtiers” (Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) they had their own slaves, as explained below.

The object of their fear is the word of the LORD, which refers to the entire pronouncement in 9.13-19. It may be natural to change the noun (word) to an event word (“said”), as in Good News Translation‘s “what the LORD had said.” But a literal rendering here may express more clearly that the “fearers” were those who recognized the word of the LORD as a divine oracle. The verb “to fear” sometimes means “to revere,” “to hold in honor,” or “to respect.” So New Jerusalem Bible says that they “respected what Yahweh had said,” and the Bijbel in Gewone Taal says that they “took the word of the Lord seriously.” But it is also likely that they “were afraid” (Good News Translation), or “were frightened by what the LORD had said” (Contemporary English Version), or even “were frightened when they heard the words of the LORD [Yahweh].”

Each of the “officials” who was a “fearer,” then, made his slaves and his cattle flee into the houses. The word his refers back to he who feared and not to the Pharaoh. This means that these servants of Pharaoh had slaves and cattle of their own. This can be made clear if he who feared is rendered as “those who feared,” and the his is changed to “their” (Good News Translation). Their slaves were not the Israelites but were people owned by them and forced to work without pay. (See further comment on slaves at 1.11a.) Cattle in this verse, in contrast to “beast” in verse 19, refers only to domesticated animals, or “livestock” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible). (See the comment on cattle at 9.2-3.) Made … flee is one word in Hebrew meaning “to put to flight.” In this context, however, it clearly means “to bring to safety.” Hence “they brought their slaves and animals indoors for shelter” (Good News Translation).

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 .