# Pharaoh will say about the Israelites, 'They are wandering in the land. The wilderness has closed in on them.'
This can be stated as an indirect quote. Alternate translation: "Pharaoh will say the Israelites are wandering in the land and the wilderness has closed in on them" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-quotations]])
# The wilderness has closed in on them
Pharaoh speaks of the wilderness as a person who has trapped the Israelites. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-personification]])