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Exodus 5-6
New American Standard Bible

Israel’s Labor Increased

5 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “(A)This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘(B)Let My people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “(C)Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, (D)I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “(E)The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their [a]work? Get back to your (F)labors!” 5 Again Pharaoh said, “Look, (G)the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!” 6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded (H)the taskmasters over the people and their (I)foremen, saying, 7 “You are no longer to give the people straw to make bricks as previously; have them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But you shall impose on them the quota of bricks which they were making before; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are (J)lazy, for that reason they cry [b]out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let the labor be heavier on the men, and have them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.”

10 So (K)the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not going to give you any straw. 11 You go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.’” 12 So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your [c]work quota, [d]your daily amount, just as when [e]you had straw.” 14 Moreover, (L)the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, (M)were beaten [f]and asked, “Why have you not completed your required task of making bricks either yesterday or today, as before?”

15 Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants? 16 There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are (N)lazy, very lazy; for that reason you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, but you must deliver the quota of bricks.” 19 The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble, [g]since they were told, “You must not reduce [h]your daily amount of bricks.” 20 When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were [i]waiting for them. 21 And (O)they said to them, “(P)May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have (Q)made [j]us repulsive in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us!”

22 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “(R)Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, (S)and You have not rescued Your people at all.”

God Promises Action

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for [k](T)under compulsion he will let them go, and [l]under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”

2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am (U)the Lord; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as [m](V)God Almighty, but by (W)My name, [n]Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. 4 I also established (X)My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the [o]land in which they lived as strangers. 5 Furthermore I have (Y)heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘(Z)I am the Lord, and (AA)I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from their bondage. I will also (AB)redeem you with (AC)an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. 7 Then I will take you [p](AD)as My people, and (AE)I will be [q]your God; and (AF)you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land which (AG)I [r]swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and (AH)I will give it to you as a possession; (AI)I am the Lord.’” 9 So Moses said this to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on (AJ)account of their [s]despondency and cruel bondage.

10 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “(AK)Go, [t]tell Pharaoh king of Egypt [u]to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; (AL)how then will Pharaoh listen to me, as I am [v](AM)unskilled in speech?” 13 Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command concerning the sons of Israel and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Heads of Israel

14 These are the heads of their fathers’ households. (AN)The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben. 15 And the (AO)sons of Simeon: [w]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. 16 And these are the names of (AP)the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and the [x]length of Levi’s life was 137 years. 17 (AQ)The sons of Gershon: [y]Libni and Shimei, according to their families. 18 And (AR)the sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and the [z]length of Kohath’s life was 133 years. 19 And (AS)the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. 20 Now (AT)Amram [aa]married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the [ab]length of Amram’s life was 137 years. 21 And (AU)the sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 And (AV)the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, [ac]Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron [ad]married Elisheba, the daughter of (AW)Amminadab, the sister of (AX)Nahshon, and she bore him (AY)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24 And the (AZ)sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and [ae]Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. 25 Now Aaron’s son (BA)Eleazar [af]married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him (BB)Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families. 26 It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “(BC)Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their [ag](BD)multitudes.” 27 They were the ones (BE)who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt [ah]about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.

28 Now it came about on the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “(BF)I am the Lord; (BG)say to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am [ai](BH)unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 5:4 Lit works
  2. Exodus 5:8 Lit out, saying,
  3. Exodus 5:13 Lit works
  4. Exodus 5:13 Lit the matter of a day in its day
  5. Exodus 5:13 Lit there was
  6. Exodus 5:14 Lit saying
  7. Exodus 5:19 Lit saying
  8. Exodus 5:19 Lit from your bricks the matter of a day in its day
  9. Exodus 5:20 Lit standing to meet
  10. Exodus 5:21 Lit our odor stink
  11. Exodus 6:1 Lit by a strong hand
  12. Exodus 6:1 Lit by a strong hand
  13. Exodus 6:3 Heb El Shaddai
  14. Exodus 6:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  15. Exodus 6:4 Lit land of their sojournings in which...
  16. Exodus 6:7 Lit to Me for a people
  17. Exodus 6:7 Lit to you for a God
  18. Exodus 6:8 Lit lifted up My hand
  19. Exodus 6:9 Or impatience
  20. Exodus 6:11 Lit speak to
  21. Exodus 6:11 Lit that he let
  22. Exodus 6:12 Lit uncircumcised of lips
  23. Exodus 6:15 In Num 26:12 and 1 Chr 4:24, Nemuel
  24. Exodus 6:16 Lit years
  25. Exodus 6:17 In 1 Chr 23:7, Ladan
  26. Exodus 6:18 Lit years
  27. Exodus 6:20 Lit took to him as a wife
  28. Exodus 6:20 Lit years
  29. Exodus 6:22 In Num 3:30, Elizaphan
  30. Exodus 6:23 Lit took to him as a wife
  31. Exodus 6:24 In 1 Chr 6:23 and 9:19, Ebiasaph
  32. Exodus 6:25 Lit took to him as a wife
  33. Exodus 6:26 I.e., multitudes in battle formation
  34. Exodus 6:27 Lit to bring out
  35. Exodus 6:30 Lit uncircumcised of lips
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Exodus 5-6
New International Version

Bricks Without Straw

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

2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,(C) that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”(D)

3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey(E) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues(F) or with the sword.”

4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?(G) Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,(H) and you are stopping them from working.”

6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers(I) and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;(J) let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.(K) They are lazy;(L) that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’(M) 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

10 Then the slave drivers(N) and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced(O) at all.’” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed,(P) demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

15 Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

17 Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy!(Q) That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work.(R) You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”

19 The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge(S) you! You have made us obnoxious(T) to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword(U) in their hand to kill us.”(V)

God Promises Deliverance

22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?(W) 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 rescued(X) your people at all.”

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand(Y) he will let them go;(Z) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”(AA)

2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.(AB) 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,[a](AC) but by my name(AD) the Lord[b](AE) I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant(AF) with them to give them the land(AG) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.(AH) 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning(AI) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.(AJ)

6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.(AK) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem(AL) you with an outstretched arm(AM) and with mighty acts of judgment.(AN) 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.(AO) Then you will know(AP) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land(AQ) I swore(AR) with uplifted hand(AS) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.(AT) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”(AU)

9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.(AV)

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell(AW) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”(AX)

12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen(AY) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips[c]?”(AZ)

Family Record of Moses and Aaron

13 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.(BA)

14 These were the heads of their families[d]:(BB)

The sons of Reuben(BC) the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben.

15 The sons of Simeon(BD) were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.

16 These were the names of the sons of Levi(BE) according to their records: Gershon,(BF) Kohath and Merari.(BG) Levi lived 137 years.

17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.(BH)

18 The sons of Kohath(BI) were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.(BJ) Kohath lived 133 years.

19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.(BK)

These were the clans of Levi according to their records.

20 Amram(BL) married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses.(BM) Amram lived 137 years.

21 The sons of Izhar(BN) were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.

22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan(BO) and Sithri.

23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab(BP) and sister of Nahshon,(BQ) and she bore him Nadab and Abihu,(BR) Eleazar(BS) and Ithamar.(BT)

24 The sons of Korah(BU) were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.

25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.(BV)

These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.

26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt(BW) by their divisions.”(BX) 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh(BY) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.(BZ)

Aaron to Speak for Moses

28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord.(CA) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,(CB) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  2. Exodus 6:3 See note at 3:15.
  3. Exodus 6:12 Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30
  4. Exodus 6:14 The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.
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