EXODUS 5

Then afterwards Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, Thus says Yehowah, the God of Israel, Send my people away, so that they may hold a feast* to me in the desert. 2 And Pharaoh said, Who is Yehowah, that I should heed his voice and send Israel away? I do not know Yehowah, and I will not send Israel away. 3 Then they said, The God of the Hebrews has met us; please let us go a three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice to Yehowah our God, or else he will fall on us with a pestilence or with the sword. 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why do you stop the people from working? Get back to work! 5 And Pharaoh said, See how the people of the land have become many, and yet you stop them from working! 6 And the same day Pharaoh commanded the people's taskmasters and officers, and said, 7 You shall no longer give the people any straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But you shall impose on them the tally of bricks which they made before; you shall not lessen it in any way. For they are lazy, and so they cry, and say, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. 9 Let the forced labour be made heavy on the men, so that they may slave at it and pay no attention to lying words.

10 So the people's taskmasters and officers went out and spoke to the people, and said, Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you any straw. 11 Go and get your straw where you can find it; for your forced labour shall be lessened not one scrap. 12 So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 And the taskmasters were urgent, and said, Finish your work, your daily stint, as when there was straw. 14 And the officers of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh's task-masters had set over them, were beaten, and it was demanded of them, Why have you not finished your task of making bricks both yesterday and today, as before? * Or festival

15 Then the officers of the sons of Israel went and cried to Pharaoh, and said, Why do you treat your slaves like this? 16 No straw is given to your slaves, yet they say to us, Make bricks. And look, your slaves are beaten, and your people have done wrong. 17 And he said, You are lazy, you are lazy! And so you say, Let us go and sacrifice to Yehowah. 18 Now get back to work! No straw shall be given you; yet you shall deliver the tally of bricks. 19 And the officers of the Sons of Israel saw that they were in a bad way when it was declared, You shall not reduce the quantity of your bricks, your daily stint. 20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who were standing to meet them as they left Pharaoh; 21 and they said to them, Yehowah look on you, and judge, because you have made our presence offensive* in the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us. * lit stink

22 Then Moses returned to Yehowah, and said, Lord, why hast thou done wrong to this people? Why didst thou send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he has done wrong to this people; and thou hast not rescued thy people at all.* * In the printed text the first verse in the next chapter is joined to this paragraph.