Moses Confronts Pharaoh

5 Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.’^(A)

² But Pharaoh responded, ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go?^(B) I don’t know^[a] the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.’^(C)

³ They answered, ‘The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword.’

⁴ The king of Egypt said to them, ‘Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labour! ’ ⁵ Pharaoh also said, ‘Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labour.’^(D)

Further Oppression of Israel

⁶ That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers^(E) of the people as well as their foremen, ⁷ ‘Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy – that is why they are crying out,^(F) “Let us go and sacrifice to our God.” ⁹ Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words.’

¹⁰ So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, ‘This is what Pharaoh says:^(G) “I am not giving you straw. ¹¹ Go and get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.” ’ ¹² So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The overseers insisted, ‘Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided.’ ¹⁴ Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten^(H) and asked, ‘Why haven’t you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before? ’

¹⁵ So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: ‘Why are you treating your servants this way? ¹⁶ No straw has been given to your servants, yet they say to us, “Make bricks! ” Look, your servants are being beaten, but it is your own people who are at fault.’

¹⁷ But he said, ‘You are lazy. Lazy! That is why you are saying, “Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.” ¹⁸ Now get to work. No straw will be given to you, but you must produce the same quantity of bricks.’

¹⁹ The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, ‘You cannot 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 take note of you and judge,’ they said to them, ‘because you have made us reek to Pharaoh and his officials – putting a sword in their hand to kill us! ’^(I)

²² So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, ‘Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me?^{(J) 23} Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all.’