Bible Time

¹AND afterward Moses and Aaron went into the palace and told Pharaoh, Thus says Yahvah God of Israel, Let my people go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness. ²And Pharaoh said, Who is Yahvah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I do not know Yahvah, nor will I let Israel go.

³And they said, Yahvah God of the Hebrews has appeared to us; now let us go 3 days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to Yahvah our God; lest he fall on us with the sword or with pestilence. ⁴And the king of Egypt said to them, Why, Moses and Aaron, do you cause the people to stop from their work? Go back to your tasks. ⁵And Pharaoh said to them, Look, the people of the land now are many, and you cause them to stop from their work. ⁶And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people and their scribes, saying, ⁷You will not give the people straw to make bricks any longer; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸But the number of bricks which they made previously, you will lay on them; you will not reduce the number; for they are idle; that is why they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. ⁹Let more work be assigned to the men, that they may be occupied, so that they may not think to engage in vain conversations.

¹⁰And the taskmasters of the people and their scribes went out and said to the people, Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. ¹¹Go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but your work will not be reduced. ¹²So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather the stubble. ¹³And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, Complete your work as you have always done, as when straw was given to you. ¹⁴And the scribes of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had appointed over them, were beaten, and demanded, Why have you not completed your quota of bricks both yesterday and today, as previously?

¹⁵Then the scribes of the children of Israel came and complained to Pharaoh, saying, Why are your servants treated in this manner? ¹⁶There is no straw given to your servants, yet they say to us, Make bricks; and look, your servants are beaten; and you sin against your people. ¹⁷But Pharaoh said to them, You are surely idle; therefore you say, Let us go and sacrifice to Yahvah. ¹⁸Go therefore now and work; and straw will not be given you, yet you will deliver the number of bricks. ¹⁹And the scribes of the children of Israel saw that they were in a bad situation, for it was said to them, You must not reduce the number of your bricks, of your daily task. ²⁰And they met Moses and Aaron standing opposite them, as they came out from the presence of Pharaoh; ²¹And they said to them, May Yahvah look on you and judge; because you have made us to be in disfavor in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hands to kill us. ²²And Moses returned to Yahvah and said, Oh my Lord, Why have you caused this people to be ill-treated? And why did you send me here? ²³For since the hour I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has ill-treated this people; and you have not delivered your people at all.