Pharaoh's First Refusal
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.
Bricks and Straw
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?
The Israelites' Cry
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.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Pharaoh’s First Refusal
1 Afterward 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.’” 2 Pharaoh 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.” 3 They 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.” 4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Why do you, Moses and Aaron, take the people from their work? Get back to your burdens!” 5 Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens.”
Bricks and Straw
6 The 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. 8 The 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.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men, that they may labor therein; and don’t let them pay any attention to lying words.”
10 The 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. 11 Go yourselves, get straw where you can find it, for nothing of your work shall be diminished.’” 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters were urgent saying, “Fulfill your work quota daily, as when there was straw!” 14 The 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?”
The Cry of the Israelites
15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants? 16 No 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.” 17 But he said, “You are idle! You are idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to Yahweh.’ 18 Go therefore now, and work, for no straw shall be given to you, yet you shall deliver the same number of bricks!” 19 The 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!” 20 They met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came out from Pharaoh: 21 and 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.”
22 Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, “Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Why is it that you have sent me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people; neither have you delivered your people at all.”
Pharaoh’s First Refusal
1 After 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.’ ”
2 But 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.”
4 But 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!” 5 Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you would be stopping them from their labor.”
Bricks and Straw
6 That 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. 8 But 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.’ 9 Make the work harder on the men so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies.”
10 So 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. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it; but your workload will in no way be reduced.’ ”
12 So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters kept pressing them, saying, “Fulfill your quota each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”
14 Then 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?”
The Cry of the Israelites
15 So the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way? 16 No 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.’ 18 Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.”
19 The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks.” 20 When 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!”
22 So Moses returned to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me? 23 Ever 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.”
Pharaoh's First Refusal
1And afterwards have Moses and Aaron entered, and they say unto Pharaoh, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Send My people away, and they keep a feast to Me in the wilderness;' 2and Pharaoh saith, 'Who is Jehovah, that I hearken to His voice, to send Israel away? I have not known Jehovah, and Israel also I do not send away.' 3And they say, 'The God of the Hebrews hath met with us, let us go, we pray thee, a journey of three days into the wilderness, and we sacrifice to Jehovah our God, lest He meet us with pestilence or with sword.' 4And the king of Egypt saith unto them, 'Why, Moses and Aaron, do ye free the people from its works? go to your burdens.' 5Pharaoh also saith, 'Lo, numerous now is the people of the land, and ye have caused them to cease from their burdens!'
Bricks and Straw
6And Pharaoh commandeth, on that day, the exactors among the people and its authorities, saying, 7'Ye do not add to give straw to the people for the making of the bricks, as heretofore -- they go and have gathered straw for themselves; 8and the proper quantity of the bricks which they are making heretofore ye do put on them, ye do not diminish from it, for they are remiss, therefore they are crying, saying, Let us go, let us sacrifice to our God; 9let the service be heavy on the men, and let them work at it, and not be dazzled by lying words.'
10And the exactors of the people, and its authorities, go out, and speak unto the people, saying, 'Thus said Pharaoh, I do not give you straw, 11ye -- go ye, take for yourselves straw where ye find it, for there is nothing of your service diminished.' 12And the people is scattered over all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw, 13and the exactors are making haste, saying, 'Complete your works, the matter of a day in its day, as when there is straw.' 14And the authorities of the sons of Israel, whom the exactors of Pharaoh have placed over them, are beaten, saying, 'Wherefore have ye not completed your portion in making brick as heretofore, both yesterday and to-day?'
The Israelites' Cry
15And the authorities of the sons of Israel come in and cry unto Pharaoh, saying, 'Why dost thou thus to thy servants? 16Straw is not given to thy servants, and they are saying to us, Make bricks, and lo, thy servants are smitten -- and thy people hath sinned.' 17And he saith, 'Remiss -- ye are remiss, therefore ye are saying, Let us go, let us sacrifice to Jehovah; 18and now, go, serve; and straw is not given to you, and the measure of bricks ye do give.' 19And the authorities of the sons of Israel see them in affliction, saying, 'Ye do not diminish from your bricks; the matter of a day in its day.' 20And they meet Moses and Aaron standing to meet them, in their coming out from Pharaoh, 21and say unto them, 'Jehovah look upon you, and judge, because ye have caused our fragrance to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants -- to give a sword into their hand to slay us.'
22And Moses turneth back unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Lord, why hast Thou done evil to this people? why is this? -- Thou hast sent me! 23and since I have come unto Pharaoh, to speak in Thy name, he hath done evil to this people, and Thou hast not at all delivered Thy people.'
