Exodus — Chapter 5

1After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”

2But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

3“The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they answered. “Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”

4But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”

5Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you would be stopping them from their labor.”

6That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen:

7“You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw.

8But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

9Make the work harder on the men so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies.”

10So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am no longer giving you straw.

11Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it; but your workload will in no way be reduced.’”

12So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.

13The taskmasters kept pressing them, saying, “Fulfill your quota each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”

14Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

15So the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way?

16No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

17“You are slackers!” Pharaoh replied. “Slackers! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’

18Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.”

19The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks.”

20When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.

21“May the LORD look upon you and judge you,” the foremen said, “for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!”

22So Moses returned to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me?

23Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and You have not delivered Your people in any way.”

1And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

2And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

3And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

4And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

5And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

6And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

7Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

8And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

9Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

10And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

11Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.

12So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

13And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.

14And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

15Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?

16There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.

17But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.

18Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.

19And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

20And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:

21And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

22And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

1And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

2And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto his voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go.

3And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days` journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice unto Jehovah our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

4And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, loose the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

5And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land are now many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

6And the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

7Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

8And the number of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof: for they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

9Let heavier work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein; and let them not regard lying words.

10And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

11Go yourselves, get you straw where ye can find it: for nought of your work shall be diminished.

12So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.

13And the taskmasters were urgent saying, Fulfil your works, [your] daily tasks, as when there was straw.

14And the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh`s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task both yesterday and to-day, in making brick as heretofore?

15Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?

16There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault it in thine own people.

17But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah.

18Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the number of bricks.

19And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, when it was said, Ye shall not diminish aught from your bricks, [your] daily tasks.

20And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:

21and they said unto them, Jehovah look upon you, and judge: because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

22And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou dealt ill with this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath dealt ill with this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

1Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said, ‘Release my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast to me in the wilderness.’”

2But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel!”

3And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword.”

4The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work? Return to your labor!”

5Pharaoh was thinking, “The people of the land are now many, and you are giving them rest from their labor.”

6That same day Pharaoh commanded the slave masters and foremen who were over the people:

7“You must no longer give straw to the people for making bricks as before. Let them go and collect straw for themselves.

8But you must require of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before. Do not reduce it, for they are slackers. That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’

9Make the work harder for the men so they will keep at it and pay no attention to lying words!”

10So the slave masters of the people and their foremen went to the Israelites and said, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I am not giving you straw.

11You go get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, because there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’”

12So the people spread out through all the land of Egypt to collect stubble for straw.

13The slave masters were pressuring them, saying, “Complete your work for each day, just like when there was straw!”

14The Israelite foremen whom Pharaoh’s slave masters had set over them were beaten and were asked, “Why did you not complete your requirement for brickmaking as in the past—both yesterday and today?”

15The Israelite foremen went and cried out to Pharaoh, “Why are you treating your servants this way?

16No straw is given to your servants, but we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are even being beaten, but the fault is with your people.”

17But Pharaoh replied, “You are slackers! Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’

18So now, get back to work! You will not be given straw, but you must still produce your quota of bricks!”

19The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the daily quota of your bricks.”

20When they went out from Pharaoh, they encountered Moses and Aaron standing there to meet them,

21and they said to them, “May the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the opinion of Pharaoh and his servants, so that you have given them an excuse to kill us!”

22Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? Why did you ever send me?

23From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble for this people, and you have certainly not rescued them!”

1Afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said to Pharaoh, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’”

2Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go? I don’t know Yahweh, and moreover I will not let Israel go.”

3They said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Yahweh, our God, lest he fall on us with pestilence, or with the sword.”

4The king of Egypt said to them, “Why do you, Moses and Aaron, take the people from their work? Get back to your burdens!”

5Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens.”

6The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

7“You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick, as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.

8The number of the bricks, which they made before, you require from them. You shall not diminish anything of it, for they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

9Let heavier work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it; and don’t let them pay any attention to lying words.”

10The taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you straw.

11Go yourselves, get straw where you can find it, for nothing of your work shall be diminished.’”

12So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.

13The taskmasters were urgent saying, “Fulfill your work quota daily, as when there was straw!”

14The officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, “Why haven’t you fulfilled your quota both yesterday and today, in making brick as before?”

15Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants?

16No straw is given to your servants, and they tell us, ‘Make brick!’ and behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.”

17But he said, “You are idle! You are idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to Yahweh.’

18Go therefore now, and work, for no straw shall be given to you, yet you shall deliver the same number of bricks!”

19The officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble, when it was said, “You shall not diminish anything from your daily quota of bricks!”

20They met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came out from Pharaoh:

21and they said to them, “May Yahweh look at you, and judge, because you have made us a stench to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

22Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, “Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Why is it that you have sent me?

23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people; and you have not rescued your people at all.”