And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.”
And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should listen to his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD — and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”
And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a journey of three days into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God — or he may strike us with pestilence or with the sword.”
And the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Go to your burdens!”
And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many — and you would make them rest from their burdens.”
Bricks and Straw
And Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people, and its foremen, that day:
“You shall no longer give the people straw for making the bricks, as yesterday and the day before. They themselves shall go and gather straw for themselves.
But the quota of bricks that they were making yesterday and the day before you shall lay on them — you shall not reduce it. For they are slack; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
Let the labor be heavy on the men, so that they work at it and pay no attention to lying words.”
And the taskmasters of the people and its foremen went out and spoke to the people: “Thus says Pharaoh: I am not giving you straw.
You yourselves go get straw wherever you can find it — but nothing will be reduced from your labor.”
And the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
And the taskmasters kept pressing them: “Finish your work — each day’s matter on its day — as when there was straw.”
And the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten: “Why have you not finished your prescribed amount of brickmaking, as yesterday and the day before — neither yesterday nor today?”
The Cry of the Israelites
And the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh: “Why do you deal this way with your servants?
No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And look — your servants are beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
And he said, “Slack — that is what you are, slack! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’
And now go, work! And straw will not be given to you — and you shall deliver the full count of bricks.”
And the foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in evil straits when it was said, “You shall not reduce your bricks — each day’s matter on its day.”
And they met Moses and Aaron, who were standing there to meet them as they came out from Pharaoh,
and they said to them, “May the LORD look on you and judge — for you have made our smell stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, putting a sword in their hand to kill us.”
And Moses returned to the LORD and said, “My Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why is it that you sent me?
For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people — and you have not delivered your people at all.”
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