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Bricks without Straw

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.”(A) But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”(B) Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword.”(C) But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!”(D) Pharaoh continued, “Now they are more numerous than the people of the land[a] and yet you want them to stop laboring!”(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 5.5 Sam: MT The people of the land are now many

Pharaoh Rejects Yahweh’s Authority and Makes Israel’s Troubles Worse

And afterward, Moses and Aaron went, and they said to Pharaoh, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, ‘Release my people so that they may hold a festival for me in the desert.’” And Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh that I should listen to his voice to release Israel? I do not know Yahweh, and also I will not release Israel.”

And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day journey into the desert, and let us sacrifice to Yahweh our God, lest he strike us with plague or with sword.” And the king of Egypt said, “Why, Moses and Aaron, do you take[a] the people from their work? Go to your forced labor!”[b] And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you want to stop them from their forced labor.”[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 5:4 Or “let loose,” “let run wild” (compare 32:25)
  2. Exodus 5:4 Literally “burdens” or “burdensome labor”
  3. Exodus 5:5 Literally “burdens” or “burdensome labor”