A direct, piercing challenge is leveled against the Egyptian leadership, questioning the true value of their celebrated wisdom when faced with divine decrees. The message is aimed straight at Pharaoh, mocking his proud claim to a royal lineage of wise men who supposedly understand the ways of the world. If Pharaoh and his advisors are truly as brilliant as they claim, it is baffling that they cannot comprehend the fate that has been sealed for them [אבן עזרא].
Pharaoh is challenged to bring forward these advisors. The primary approach among commentators is that this is a question of mockery, asking where these wise men are hiding now and whether they can actually advise Pharaoh on how to escape the approaching disaster [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The phrasing of the question emphasizes their utter inability to predict the future despite their reputed intelligence [רד״ק]. However, a deeper layer can be found in the exact nature of the challenge. The inquiry is twofold: first, it asks whether these advisors are currently nearby and available to help, and second, it wonders whether such wise men exist anywhere in reality at all. If a truly wise person capable of understanding God's decree actually existed, he would never have misled Pharaoh with foolish illusions in the first place [מלבי״ם].
The advisors are tasked with two actions: to tell Pharaoh what will happen and to know it. Logically, knowing should come before telling. One explanation for this reversed order is that they are challenged to tell the future if they already knew it, which ultimately serves to prove that they are completely incapable of knowing what has been decreed [שד״ל]. Alternatively, the demand to know is a call for these wise men to apply their intellect to decipher God's plan, if only to find a way to protect themselves from it [מצודת דוד].
This divine plan is described as a strategy devised by God against Egypt. It represents the harsh decree and disaster He has prepared, much like an enemy carefully planning a tactical assault [רד״ק].