Pharaoh Will Not Let the People Go

5 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “^(A)Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘^(B)Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” ² But Pharaoh said, “^(C)Who is Yahweh that I should listen to His voice to let Israel go? I do not know Yahweh, and also, ^(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 that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God, lest He confront us with pestilence or with the sword.” ⁴ But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you ^[a]draw the people away from their ^[b]work? Get back to your ^[c](F)hard labors!” ⁵ And Pharaoh said, “Look, ^(G)the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their hard labors!” ⁶ So on that 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 brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall set upon them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are ^(J)lazy, therefore they are crying out, ‘^[d]Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let their slavery be hard on the men, and let them work at it so that they will have no regard for false words.”

¹⁰ So ^(K)the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I am not going to give you any straw. ¹¹ You go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but no amount of your slave labor will be reduced.’” ¹² So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ And the taskmasters were pressing them, saying, “Complete your ^[e]work quota, ^[f]the daily amount, just as when there was straw.” ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(L)the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, ^(M)were beaten ^[g]and were asked, “Why have you not completed your required amount either yesterday or today in making brick as previously?”

¹⁵ Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your slaves? ¹⁶ There is no straw given to your slaves, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your slaves are being beaten; but it is the ^[h]sin of your own people.” ¹⁷ But he said, “You are ^(N)lazy—lazy! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to Yahweh.’ ¹⁸ So now, go and labor; but straw will not be given to you, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks.” ¹⁹ Then the foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble ^[i]because they were told, “You must not reduce ^[j]your daily amount of bricks.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they confronted Moses and Aaron, ^[k]standing there to meet them. ^21 (O)And they said to them, “^(P)May Yahweh look upon you and judge, for you have ^(Q)made ^[l]us a foul smell 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 Yahweh and said, “^(R)O 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 delivered Your people at all.”