Exodus 5

Bricks without Straw

1 # Ex 3.18; 4.23; 10.9 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.” 2#Ex 3.19; Job 21.15But 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.” 3#Ex 3.18Then 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.” 4#Ex 1.11; 2.11; 6.6, 7But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!” 5#Ex 1.7, 9Pharaoh continued, “Now they are more numerous than the people of the land#5.5 Sam: MT The people of the land are now many and yet you want them to stop laboring!” 6#Ex 1.11; 3.7That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, 7“You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8#v 17But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will pay attention to#5.9 Sam Gk Syr: MT they will do it and not to deceptive words.”

10 # v 6 So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh: I will not give you straw. 11Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it, but your work will not be lessened in the least.” 12So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13The taskmasters urged them on, saying, “Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw.”#5.13 Sam Gk Vg: MT as when there was straw 14#v 6; Isa 10.24And the Israelite supervisors whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them were beaten and were asked, “Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?”

15Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look how your servants are beaten! But the fault is with you.”#5.16 Cn: MT but the fault of your people 17#v 8He said, “You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18Go now and work, for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.” 20As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them. 21#Gen 16.5; 34.30; Ex 14.11; 15.24They said to them, “The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

22 # Num 11.11; Jer 4.10 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O my Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? 23#Ex 3.8Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people.”

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