1And after Moses and Aaron came, they said to Pharaoh, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Send my people that they may celebrate to me in the wilderness.2Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD that I should heed his voice and send Israel away? I have not known the LORD, and I will not send Israel either.3And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met us. Let us go, we pray, a three-day journey in the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.4And the king of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why do you neglect the people from their work? Go to your burdens.5And Pharaoh said, Look, the people of the land are now many, and you are making them cease from their burdens.6On that day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters who were over the people and his officials, saying,7You shall no longer give straw to the people for making bricks as you did yesterday and the day before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.8And the tally of the bricks that they are making, yesterday and three days ago, you shall set upon them; you shall not diminish from it, for they are slack; therefore they cry out, saying, "Let us go and sacrifice to our God."9Let the work be hard on the men so that they may labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words.10The taskmasters and their officials went out and said to the people, Thus says Pharaoh: I will not give you straw.11You yourselves go, take straw for yourselves from wherever you find it, for nothing shall be diminished from your service.12So the people scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.13The taskmasters pressed them, saying, Complete your work, the same daily amount as when straw was provided.14The officials of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had appointed over them, were beaten and asked, Why have you not finished the required number of bricks yesterday and today as before?15The officials of the sons of Israel came and appealed to Pharaoh: Why do you treat your servants this way?16Straw is not given to your servants, and they say to us, 'Make bricks'; and behold, your servants are beaten, and the fault lies with your people.17And he said, You are slack, you are slack; therefore you say, Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.18Now go and work; straw will not be given to you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.19When the officials of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble, they said, You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks.20And they met Moses and Aaron, who were standing to meet them when they came out from Pharaoh.21And they said to them, May the LORD see upon you and judge, who have made our aroma stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.