Exodus 5:6-21
Lexham English Bible
6 And on that day Pharaoh commanded the slave drivers over the people and his foremen, saying, 7 “You must no longer give straw to the people to make the bricks like before.[a] Let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the quota of the bricks that they were making before[b] you must require of them.[c] You must not reduce from it, because they are lazy. Therefore they are crying out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let the work be heavier on the men so that they will do it and not pay attention to words of deception.”
10 And the slave drivers of the people and their foremen went out, and they spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I am not giving you straw. 11 You go, get straw for yourselves from whatever you find because not a thing is being reduced from your work.’” 12 And the people spread out in all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for the straw. 13 And the slave drivers were insisting, saying, “Finish your work for each day[d] on its day, as when there was straw.”[e] 14 And the foremen of the Israelites,[f] whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had appointed over them, were beaten by men who were saying, “Why have you not completed your portion of brickmaking as before, both yesterday and today?”[g]
The Foremen Complain to Pharaoh and Moses, and Moses Complains to Yahweh
15 And the foremen of the Israelites[h] came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 Straw is not being given to your servants, but they are saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ and, look, your servants are being beaten, but it is the fault of[i] your people.” 17 And he said, “You are lazy, lazy! Therefore you are saying, ‘Let us go; let us sacrifice to Yahweh.’ 18 And now go, work, but straw will not be given to you, and you must give the full quota of bricks.”
19 And the foremen of the Israelites[j] saw they were in trouble with the saying,[k] “You will not reduce from your bricks for each day[l] on its day.” 20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them when they were going out from Pharaoh. 21 And they said to them, “May Yahweh look upon you and judge because you have caused our fragrance to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants so as to put a sword into their hand to kill us.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 5:7 Literally “yesterday three days ago”
- Exodus 5:8 Literally “yesterday three days ago”
- Exodus 5:8 Literally “you will put on them”
- Exodus 5:13 Literally “a thing of a day”
- Exodus 5:13 Literally “in the being of the straw”
- Exodus 5:14 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 5:14 Literally “as yesterday three days ago also yesterday also the day”
- Exodus 5:15 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 5:16 The expression is difficult. The word translated “fault” or “sin” has pointing for a second-person feminine singular subject (“you sinned”), which does not go well with either “Pharaoh” or “your people” as a subject; but the noun translated “sin of” has the same consonants, leading to the possibility that the word should be understood as a noun
- Exodus 5:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 5:19 Literally “saying”
- Exodus 5:19 Literally “a thing of a day”
Exodus 5:6-21
Common English Bible
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.”
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