1
And afterwards Moses and Aaron came, and said to Pharaoh, Thus said Jehovah the God of Israel, Let My people go, that they may celebrate to Me in the wilderness.
2
And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, whose voice I should hear, to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and also I will not let Israel go.
3
And they said, The God of the Hebrews has come* upon us; let us go, we pray◦ thee, a way of three days into the wilderness, and let us sacrifice to Jehovah our God; lest He fall··upon us with the pestilence, or with the sword.
4
And the king of Egypt said to them, Why do you, Moses and Aaron, make· the people ·lax from their works◦? Go ye to your burdens◦.
5
And Pharaoh said, Behold the people of the land are now many, and you have made them cease from their burdens◦.
6
And Pharaoh commanded in that◦ day the taskmasters among◦ the people, and his officers, saying,
7
You shall not again give the people straw to make the bricks*, as yesterday and the day··before◦; they◦ will go and gather··up straw for themselves.
8
And the fixed··measure of the bricks which they made yesterday and the day before, you shall set on them; you shall not diminish from it; for they slacken; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
9
Let the service be made··heavy on the men◦, and let them do it; and let them not regard the false words.
10
And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they said to the people, saying, Thus said Pharaoh, I will by no means give you straw.
11
Go ye yourselves, get you straw where you can find it; for nothing whatever shall be diminished from your service.
12
And the people scattered into all the land of Egypt to pick··up stubble for straw.
13
And the taskmasters insisted, saying, Complete ye your deeds, the word of a day in its day, as when there was straw.
14
And the officers of the sons of Israel were smitten, whom the taskmasters of Pharaoh had set over them, saying, Wherefore do you not complete your stated task in making brick, as yesterday and the day··before◦, also yesterday, also today?
15
And the officers of the sons of Israel came and cried to▵ Pharaoh, saying, Why doest thou thus to thy servants?
16
There is no straw given to thy servants, and they say to us, Make ye bricks; and behold thy servants are smitten; and thy people have sinned.
17
And he said, You◦ are slack, you are slack; therefore you◦ say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah.
18
And now go, serve ye, and straw shall not be given you, and the fixed··measure of bricks you shall give.
19
And the officers of the sons of Israel saw themselves in evil, saying, You shall not diminish from your bricks, the word of the day in its day.
20
And they came··upon Moses and Aaron standing··up to meet them when they went··out from Pharaoh.
21
And they said to▵ them, Jehovah shall look◦ upon you, and judge, because you have made our smell to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to give a sword into their hand to kill us.
22
And Moses returned to Jehovah, and said, Lord, why hast Thou done··evil to this people? Why is this that Thou hast sent me?
23
And since I came to▵ Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he has done··evil to this people; and rescuing Thou hast not rescued Thy people.