Exodus 5:6-9

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

⁶ That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors,^{(A) 7} “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But 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.’^{(B) 9} Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will pay attention to^[a] it and not to deceptive words.”