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

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

¶ And they said, The God of the Hebrews has found us; therefore we shall go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice unto the LORD our God lest he encounter us with pestilence or with the sword.

Then the king of Egypt said unto them, Why do ye, Moses and Aaron, keep the people from their works? Go unto your burdens.

Pharaoh also said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them cease from their burdens.

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

Ye shall no longer give the people firewood to make brick as until now; let them go and gather firewood for themselves.

And the tally of the bricks which they made before, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish any of it; for they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

Let more work be laid upon them that they may occupy themselves with it; and let them not regard words of deception.

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

11 Go ye, gather firewood where ye can find it; yet none of your work shall be diminished.

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

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

14 And the officers of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and they demanded, Why have ye not fulfilled your quotas in making brick both yesterday and today, as until now?

15 ¶ Then the officers of the sons of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Why doest thou deal thus with thy slaves?

16 There is no firewood given unto thy slaves, yet they say to us, Make brick. Behold, thy slaves are beaten; and thy people sin.

17 And he replied, Ye are idle, ye are idle, therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice unto the LORD.

18 Go therefore now and work, for no firewood shall be given you, yet ye shall deliver the tally of bricks.

19 Then the officers of the sons of Israel saw that they were afflicted after it was said, Ye shall not diminish any from the bricks of your daily quota.

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

21 and they said unto them, The LORD look upon you and judge because ye have made our savour to be a stench before Pharaoh and his slaves, putting a sword in their hands to slay us.

22 Then Moses returned unto the LORD and said, Lord, why hast thou so afflicted this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me?

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

Bricks Without Straw

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.’”

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)

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.”

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!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,(H) and you are stopping them from working.”

That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers(I) and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;(J) let them go and gather their own straw. 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) 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.”