Exodus 5-6

Common English Bible

First meeting with Pharaoh

5 Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says: ‘Let my people go so that they can hold a festival for me in the desert.’”

² But Pharaoh said, “Who is this Lord whom I’m supposed to obey by letting Israel go? I don’t know this Lord, and I certainly won’t let Israel go.”

³ Then they said, “The Hebrews’ God has appeared to us. Let us go on a three-day journey into the desert so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. Otherwise, the Lord will give us a deadly disease or violence.”

⁴ The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you making the people slack off from their work? Do the hard work yourselves!” ⁵ Pharaoh continued, “The land’s people are now numerous. Yet you want them to stop their hard work?”

⁶ On the very same day Pharaoh commanded the people’s slave masters and supervisors, ⁷ “Don’t supply the people with the straw they need to make bricks like you did before. Let them go out and gather the straw for themselves. ⁸ But still make sure that they produce the same number of bricks as they made before. Don’t reduce the number! They are weak and lazy, and that’s why they cry, ‘Let’s go and offer sacrifices to our God.’ ⁹ Make the men’s work so hard that it’s all they can do, and they can’t focus on these empty lies.”

¹⁰ So the people’s slave masters and supervisors came out and spoke to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says, ‘I’m not giving you straw anymore. ¹¹ Go and get the straw on your own, wherever you can find it. But your work won’t be reduced at all.’” ¹² So the people spread out all through the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The slave masters drove them hard and said, “Make sure you make the same daily quota as when you had the straw.” ¹⁴ The Israelite supervisors, whom Pharaoh’s slave masters had set over them, were also beaten and asked, “Why didn’t you produce the same number of bricks yesterday and today as you did before?”

¹⁵ Then the Israelite supervisors came and pleaded to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? ¹⁶ No straw is supplied to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look at how your servants are being beaten! Your own people are to blame!”

¹⁷ Pharaoh replied, “You are lazy bums, nothing but lazy bums. That’s why you say, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Go and get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you still need to make the same number of bricks.”

¹⁹ The Israelite supervisors saw how impossible their situation was when they were commanded, “Don’t reduce your daily quota of bricks.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them. ²¹ The supervisors said to them, “Let the Lord see and judge what you’ve done! You’ve made us stink in the opinion of Pharaoh and his servants. You’ve given them a reason to kill us.”

²² Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “My Lord, why have you abused this people? Why did you send me for this? ²³ Ever since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has abused this people. And you’ve done absolutely nothing to rescue your people.”

God reassures Moses

6 The Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I’ll do to Pharaoh. In fact, he’ll be so eager to let them go that he’ll drive them out of his land by force.”

² God also said to Moses: “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty,^[a] but I didn’t reveal myself to them by my name ‘The Lord.’ ⁴ I also set up my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan where they lived as immigrants. ⁵ I’ve also heard the cry of grief of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have turned into slaves, and I’ve remembered my covenant. ⁶ Therefore, say to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I’ll bring you out from Egyptian forced labor. I’ll rescue you from your slavery to them. I’ll set you free with great power and with momentous events of justice. ⁷ I’ll take you as my people, and I’ll be your God. You will know that I, the Lord, am your God, who has freed you from Egyptian forced labor. ⁸ I’ll bring you into the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I’ll give it to you as your possession. I am the Lord.’” ⁹ Moses told this to the Israelites. But they didn’t listen to Moses, because of their complete exhaustion and their hard labor.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go and tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, to let the Israelites out of his land.”

¹² But Moses said to the Lord, “The Israelites haven’t even listened to me. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen to me, especially since I’m not a very good speaker?” ¹³ Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, giving them orders to let the Israelites go from the land of Egypt.

Family line of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴ These were the leaders of their households.

The descendants of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

These were Reuben’s clans. ¹⁵ The Simeonites: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, a Canaanite woman’s son. These were Simeon’s clans.

¹⁶ These were the Levites’ names by their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. ¹⁷ The Gershonites: Libni and Shimei and their clans. ¹⁸ The Kohathites: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. ¹⁹ The Merarites: Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their generations.

²⁰ Amram married Jochebed, his father’s sister. She gave birth to Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. ²¹ The Izharites: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² The Uzzielites: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. ²³ Aaron married Elisheba, Amminadab’s daughter and Nahshon’s sister. She gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ The Korahites: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans. ²⁵ Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of Putiel’s daughters. She gave birth to Phinehas. These were the leaders of Levite households by their clans.

²⁶ It was this same Aaron and Moses whom the Lord commanded, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in military formation.” ²⁷ It was also this same Moses and Aaron who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

²⁸ At the time the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, everything that I’ve said to you.”

³⁰ But Moses replied to the Lord, “Look, I’m not a very good speaker. How is Pharaoh ever going to listen to me?”