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Exodus 5
1599 Geneva Bible
Exodus 5
1599 Geneva Bible
5 1 Moses and Aaron do their message unto Pharaoh, who oppresseth the people of Israel more and more. 20 They cry out upon Moses and Aaron therefore, and Moses complaineth unto God.
1 Then afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to [a]Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may [b]celebrate a feast unto me in the wilderness.
2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should hear his voice, and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.
3 And they said, [c]We worship the God of the Hebrews: we pray thee, let us go three days’ journey in the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God, lest [d]he bring upon us the pestilence or sword.
4 Then said the King of Egypt unto them, Moses and Aaron, why cause ye the people to cease from their works? get you to your burdens.
5 Pharaoh said furthermore, Behold, much people is now in the land, and ye [e]make them leave their burdens.
6 Therefore Pharaoh gave commandment the same day unto the taskmasters of the people, and to their [f]officers, saying,
7 Ye shall give the people no more straw, to make brick ([g]as in time past) but let them go and gather them straw themselves.
8 Notwithstanding lay upon them the number of brick, which they made in time past, diminish nothing thereof: for they be idle, therefore they cry, saying, Let us go to offer sacrifice unto our God.
9 [h]Lay more work upon the men, and cause them to do it, and let them not regard [i]vain words.
10 ¶ Then went the taskmasters of the people and their officers out, and told the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will give you no more straw.
11 Go yourselves, get ye straw where ye can find it, yet shall nothing of your labor be diminished.
12 Then were the people scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt, for to gather stubble instead of straw.
13 And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Finish your day’s work [j]every day’s task, as ye did when ye had straw.
14 And the Officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your [task] in making brick yesterday and today, as in times past?
15 ¶ Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus thy servants?
16 There is no straw given to thy servants, and they say unto us, Make brick: and lo, thy servants are beaten, and [k]thy people is blamed.
17 But he said, [l]Ye are too much idle: therefore ye say, Let us go to offer sacrifice to the Lord.
18 Go therefore now and work: for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the whole tale of brick.
19 Then the officers of the children of Israel [m]saw themselves in an evil case, because it was said, Ye shall diminish nothing of your brick, nor of every day’s task.
20 ¶ And they met Moses and Aaron, which stood in their way as they came out from Pharaoh.
21 To whom they said, The Lord look upon you and judge: for ye have made our savor to [n]stink before Pharaoh and before his servants, in that ye have [o]put a sword in their hand to slay us.
22 Wherefore Moses returned to the Lord, and said, Lord, why hast thou afflicted this people? wherefore hast thou thus sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath vexed this people, and yet thou hast not delivered thy people.
Footnotes
- Exodus 5:1 Faith overcometh fear, and maketh men bold in their vocation.
- Exodus 5:1 And offer sacrifice.
- Exodus 5:3 Or, God hath met us.
- Exodus 5:3 Hebrew, Lest he meet us with pestilence.
- Exodus 5:5 As though ye would rebel.
- Exodus 5:6 Which were of the Israelites, and had charge to see them do their work.
- Exodus 5:7 Hebrew, yesterday and ere yesterday.
- Exodus 5:9 The more cruelly that tyrants rage, the nearer is God’s help.
- Exodus 5:9 Of Moses and Aaron.
- Exodus 5:13 Hebrew, the work of a day in his day.
- Exodus 5:16 Or, thy people the Egyptians are in fault.
- Exodus 5:17 Hebrew, idle, ye are idle.
- Exodus 5:19 Or, looked sad on them, which said.
- Exodus 5:21 Read Gen. 34:30.
- Exodus 5:21 It is a grievous thing to the servants of God to be accused of evil, specially of their brethren, when they do as their duty requireth.
Exodus 5
New International Version
Exodus 5
New International Version
Bricks Without Straw
5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go,(A) so that they may hold a festival(B) to me in the wilderness.’”
2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,(C) that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”(D)
3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey(E) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues(F) or with the sword.”
4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?(G) Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,(H) and you are stopping them from working.”
6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers(I) and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;(J) let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.(K) They are lazy;(L) that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’(M) 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
10 Then the slave drivers(N) and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced(O) at all.’” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed,(P) demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
15 Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
17 Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy!(Q) That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work.(R) You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
19 The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge(S) you! You have made us obnoxious(T) to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword(U) in their hand to kill us.”(V)
God Promises Deliverance
22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?(W) Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued(X) your people at all.”
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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