1 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, |Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.'|
2 But Pharaoh said, |Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go.|
3 Then they said, |The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.|
4 But the king of Egypt said to them, |Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get [back] to your labors!|
5 Again Pharaoh said, |Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!|
6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying,
7 |You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 |But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, therefore they cry out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'
9 |Let the labor be heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.|
10 So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, |Thus says Pharaoh, 'I am not going to give you [any] straw.
11 You go [and] get straw for yourselves wherever you can find [it], but none of your labor will be reduced.'|
12 So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
13 The taskmasters pressed them, saying, |Complete your work quota, [your] daily amount, just as when you had straw.|
14 Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, |Why have you not completed your required amount either yesterday or today in making brick as previously?|
15 Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, |Why do you deal this way with your servants?
16 |There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, 'Make bricks!' And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your [own] people.|
17 But he said, |You are lazy, [very] lazy; therefore you say, 'Let us go [and] sacrifice to the LORD.'
18 |So go now [and] work; for you will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks.|
19 The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble because they were told, |You must not reduce [your] daily amount of bricks.|
20 When they left Pharaoh's presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were waiting for them.
21 They said to them, |May the LORD look upon you and judge [you], for you have made us odious in Pharaoh's sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.|
