¹³ So the Egyptians brutally compelled the sons of Israel ^(A)to slave labor; ¹⁴ and they made ^(B)their lives bitter with ^[a]hard slave labor in mortar and bricks and in all kinds of slave labor in the field, all their slave labor which they brutally ^[b]compelled them to do.

⁵ And Pharaoh said, “Look, ^(A)the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their hard labors!” ⁶ So on that day Pharaoh commanded ^(B)the taskmasters over the people and their ^(C)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 set upon them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are ^(D)lazy, therefore they are crying out, ‘^[a]Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let their slavery be hard on the men, and let them work at it so that they will have no regard for false words.”

¹⁶ There is no straw given to your slaves, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your slaves are being beaten; but it is the ^[a]sin of your own people.” ¹⁷ But he said, “You are ^(A)lazy—lazy! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to Yahweh.’ ¹⁸ So now, go and labor; but straw will not be given to you, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks.”