Exodus 5

After that, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so they can hold a feast for me in the wilderness."

1And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

Note"The LORD" printed in capitals stands where the Hebrew has the personal name of Israel's God (written YHWH, often pronounced "Yahweh"), as opposed to the ordinary word for "a god." Pharaoh's reply in the next verse turns on this: he is saying he has never heard of this particular god. The word behind "feast" (Hebrew *ḥag*) means a pilgrimage festival: traveling to a place, offering sacrifices there, and eating and celebrating. It is not simply a meal.

2Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go."

2And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

Note"I do not know the LORD" is not a claim of ignorance about religion in general. To "know" a god here means to recognize it, to have dealings with it, to acknowledge its claim on you. Pharaoh is saying this god has no standing with him.

3They said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days' journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with disease or with the sword."

3And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

Note"Hebrews" is the name outsiders used for the Israelites living in Egypt; the Israelites themselves rarely use it of themselves. ("Three days' journey" is a round figure for a trip far enough out to be beyond settled Egyptian territory: three days out, sacrifice, three days back.) "The sword" is standard Hebrew shorthand for war or violent death, as "disease" is for epidemic.

4The king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why are you keeping the people from their work? Get back to your labor."

4And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

5Pharaoh also said, "Look, the people of the land are many now, and you are making them stop their hard work."

5And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

Note"The people of the land" can mean the general population of a country or a particular working class within it; Pharaoh's point is that this labor force has grown large, so any stoppage is expensive.

6That same day Pharaoh gave an order to the taskmasters over the people and to their foremen. He said:

6And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

NoteTwo separate ranks, and the difference matters for the rest of the chapter. The "taskmasters" were Egyptian officials running the building program. The "foremen" (or officers) were Israelites picked from among the workers to drive the gangs. They stood between the two sides, and in verse 14 it is they, not the Egyptians, who are beaten when the quota falls short.

7"Do not give the people straw for making bricks anymore, the way you have been doing. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.

7Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

NoteEgyptian bricks were made of Nile mud pressed into wooden molds and dried in the sun, not fired in a kiln. Chopped straw was mixed into the mud as a binder, making the brick far less likely to crack; the state normally supplied it as part of the cost of the work. Withdrawing the straw while keeping the count is a real, calculated increase in labor, not an insult only.

8But require the same number of bricks from them that they made before. Do not lower it at all. They are lazy. That is why they cry out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'

8And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

9Pile more work on the men, so that they have to keep at it and pay no attention to empty words."

9Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

Note"Empty words" translates a Hebrew phrase meaning words of falsehood or deceit. Pharaoh is calling the message Moses brought a lie.

10So the taskmasters over the people went out with their foremen and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: I will not give you straw.

10And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

11Go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it. But none of your work will be reduced."

11Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.

12So the people spread out all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble to use instead of straw.

12So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

NoteStubble is the stumps of grain stalks left standing in a field after harvest. It is shorter, coarser and scattered across the countryside, so gathering enough of it, and chopping it down to usable size, takes far longer than collecting the threshed straw that was previously issued.

13The taskmasters kept pushing them, saying, "Finish your work, your daily amount, just as you did when there was straw."

13And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.

14And the foremen of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had put in charge of them, were beaten. They were asked, "Why have you not finished making your set number of bricks yesterday and today, the way you did before?"

14And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

15Then the foremen of the Israelites came and cried out to Pharaoh, "Why are you treating your servants this way?

15Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?

Note"Your servants" is the ordinary humble way of saying "we" when speaking to a king; it does not mean they are Pharaoh's household staff.

16No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, 'Make bricks!' Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people."

16There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.

NoteThe Hebrew of the last clause is genuinely unclear, and translations divide. It can mean "the fault lies with your own people" (the Egyptian officials who withheld the straw), or "you are doing wrong to your own people," or simply "and your people are at fault." The rendering keeps the most common reading.

17But he said, "You are lazy! You are lazy! That is why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'

17But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.

18So go now and work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must hand over the same number of bricks."

18Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.

19The foremen of the Israelites saw that they were in a bad spot when they were told, "You must not reduce your daily number of bricks at all."

19And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

20As they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron, who were standing in the way waiting for them.

20And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:

21They said to them, "May the LORD look at you and judge you, because you have made us stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants. You have put a sword in their hand to kill us."

21And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

NoteThe Hebrew is literally "you have made our smell stink in the eyes of Pharaoh" (a set idiom for making someone repellent or hated, close to the English "you have made our name mud.") "Put a sword in their hand" is likewise an idiom: you have handed them both the means and the excuse to kill us.

22So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Lord, why have you treated this people so badly? Why is it that you sent me?

22And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, LORD, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

23Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."

23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

NoteTo "speak in someone's name" is to come as their authorised representative, delivering their words rather than your own, the language of an official messenger or envoy.