Exodus 5

¹ After this, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, has said, “Let my people go, so that they may keep a feast in the wilderness in honour of me.”‘

² ‘Who is Yahweh,’ Pharaoh replied ‘that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I know nothing of Yahweh, and I will not let Israel go.’

³ ‘The God of the Hebrews has come to meet us’ they replied. ‘Give us leave to make a three days’ journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to Yahweh our God, or he will come down on us with a plague or with the sword.’

⁴ The king of Egypt said to them, ‘Moses and Aaron, what do you mean by taking the people away from their work? Get back to your labouring.’

⁵ And Pharaoh said, ‘Now that these common folk have grown to such numbers, do you want to stop them labouring?’ Instructions to the slave-drivers

⁶ That same day, Pharaoh gave this command to the people’s slave-drivers and to the overseers.

⁷ Up to the present, you have provided these people with straw for brickmaking. Do so no longer; let them go and gather straw for themselves.

⁸ All the same, you are to get from them the same number of bricks as before, not reducing it at all. They are lazy, and that is why their cry is, “Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God”.

⁹ Make these men work harder than ever, so that they do not have time to stop and listen to glib speeches.’

¹⁰ The people’s slave-drivers went out with the overseers to speak to the people. ‘Pharaoh has given orders’ they said: ‘”I will not provide you with straw.

¹¹ Go out and collect straw for yourselves wherever you can find it. But your output is not to be any less.”‘

¹² So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for making chopped straw.

¹³ The slave-drivers harassed them. ‘Every day you must complete your daily quota,’ they said ‘just as you did when straw was provided for you.’

¹⁴ And the foremen who had been appointed for the sons of Israel by Pharaoh’s slave-drivers were flogged, and they were asked, ‘Why have you not produced your full amount of bricks as before, either yesterday or today?’ The Hebrew foremen complain

¹⁵ The foremen for the sons of Israel went to Pharaoh and complained. ‘Why do you treat your servants so?’ they said.

¹⁶ ‘No straw is provided for your servants and still the cry is, “Make bricks!” And now your servants have been flogged!…’

¹⁷ ‘You are lazy, lazy’ he answered ‘that is why you say, “Let us go and offer sacrifice to Yahweh”.

¹⁸ Get back to your work at once. You shall not get any straw, but you must deliver the number of bricks due from you.’ The dilemma of the foremen. Moses prays

¹⁹ The foremen for the sons of Israel saw themselves in a very difficult position when told there was to be no reduction in the daily number of bricks.

²⁰ As they left Pharaoh’s presence they met Moses and Aaron who were waiting for them.

²¹ ‘May Yahweh see your work and punish you as you deserve!’ they said to them. ‘You have made us hated by Pharaoh and his court; you have put a sword into their hand to kill us.’

²² Once more Moses turned to Yahweh. ‘Lord,’ he said to him ‘why do you treat this people so harshly? Why did you send me here?

²³ Ever since I came to Pharaoh and spoke to him in your name, he has ill-treated this nation, and you have done nothing to deliver your people.’