Chapter 5
1
And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Send out my people, and they shall celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.”
2
Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should listen to his voice and send out Israel? I do not know the LORD, and I will not send out Israel."
3
They said, "The God of the Hebrews has called to us. Please let us go a three-day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God, so that he does not meet us with pestilence or sword."
4
He said to them, "Why, Moses and Aaron, do you make the people stray from their works? Go to your labors!"
5
And Pharaoh said, "Behold, now the people of the earth are many, and you have caused them to cease from their burden."
6
Pharaoh commanded the overseers over the people and their scribes on that day, saying:
7
You shall not gather straw to give to the people to make the bricks as yesterday and three days ago. They will go and gather straw for themselves.
8
You shall put on them the quota of the bricks that they were making yesterday and three days ago; you shall not reduce it, for they are idle. On account of this they are crying out, saying, "Let us go, let us sacrifice to our God."
9
Let the work be made heavy on the men, and let them do it, and let them not give heed to words of falsehood.
10
And the taskmasters of the people and their overseers went out and said to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh: 'I am not giving you straw.'"
11
You go and get straw for yourselves from whatever you can find, for there will be no reduction in your work.
12
He scattered the people over all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
13
And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, "Finish your work, your daily tasks, just as when there was straw."
14
The taskmasters beat the foremen of the sons of Israel whom they had put over them, Pharaoh's taskmasters, saying, "Why have you not finished your statute as yesterday and three days ago, also yesterday, also today?"
15
And the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, "Why do you treat your servants like this?"
16
No straw is given to your servants, and the brickmakers say to us, "Make!" and behold, your servants are beaten, and you have sinned against your people.
17
And he said, "You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'"
18
And now go serve, and stubble will not be given to you, and you will give the full quota of bricks.
19
And the quota officers of the sons of Israel saw that they were in evil, saying, "You shall not diminish from your bricks a thing, day by day."
20
They met Moses and Aaron, who were standing there to meet them as they came out from Pharaoh.
21
They said to them, "May God see you and judge, you who have made our smell stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us."