1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

2And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

3And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

4And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

5And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

6And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

7Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

8And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

9Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

10And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

11Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.

12So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

13And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, yourdaily tasks, as when there was straw.

14And 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 both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

15Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?

16There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.

17But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go anddo sacrifice to the LORD.

18Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.

19And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

20And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:

21And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

22And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and tolde Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people goe, that they may holde a feast vnto mee in the wildernesse.

2And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voyce to let Israel goe? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel goe.

3And they said, The God of the Hebrewes hath met with vs: let vs goe, we pray thee, three dayes iourney into the desert, and sacrifice vnto the Lord our God, lest hee fall vpon vs with pestilence, or with the sword.

4And the King of Egypt said vnto them, Wherfore doe ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their workes? get you vnto your burdens.

5And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, & you make them rest from their burdens.

6And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taske-masters of the people, and their officers, saying;

7Yee shall no more giue the people straw to make bricke, as heretofore: let them goe and gather straw for themselues.

8And the tale of the brickes which they did make heretofore, you shall lay vpon them: you shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us goe and sacrifice to our God.

9Let there more worke be layde vpon the men, that they may labour therein, and let them not regard vaine wordes.

10 And the taske-masters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not giue you straw.

11Goe ye, get you straw where you can find it: yet not ought of your worke shall be diminished.

12So the people were scattered abroad throughout al the land of Egypt, to gather stubble in stead of straw.

13And the taske-masters hasted them, saying; Fulfill your workes, your dayly taskes, as when there was straw.

14And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaohs task-masters had set ouer them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore haue ye not fulfilled your taske, in making bricke, both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cryed vnto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy seruants?

16There is no straw giuen vnto thy seruants, and they say to vs, Make bricke: and beholde, thy seruants are beaten; but the fault is in thine owne people.

17But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let vs goe and doe sacrifice to the Lord.

18Goe therefore now and worke: for there shall no straw bee giuen you, yet shall ye deliuer the tale of brickes.

19And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in euill case, after it was said, Yee shall not minish ought from your brickes of your dayly taske.

20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came foorth from Pharaoh.

21And they said vnto them; The Lord looke vpon you, and iudge, because you haue made our sauour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his seruants, to put a sword in their hand to slay vs.

22And Moses returned vnto the Lord, and said, Lord, Wherefore hast thou so euill intreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me?

23For since I came to Pharaoh to speake in thy Name, he hath done euill to this people, neither hast thou deliuered thy people at all.

I == Ex 10:9

II == Ex 3:19 ; 2nd Kings 18:35 ; Job 21:15

IV == Ex 1:11

V == Ex 1:7 , 9

XXI == Gen 34:30 ; Ex 6:9 ; 1st Sam 13:4 ; 27:12 ; 2nd Sam 10:6 ; 1st Chr 19:6

1 After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may celebrate a feast to me in the desert."

2 Pharaoh answered, "Who is the LORD, that I should heed his plea to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD; even if I did, I would not let Israel go."

3 They replied, "The God of the Hebrews has sent us word. Let us go a three days' journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God; otherwise he will punish us with pestilence or the sword."

4 The king of Egypt answered them, "What do you mean, Moses and Aaron, by taking the people away from their work? Off to your labor!

5 Look how numerous the people of the land are already," continued Pharaoh, "and yet you would give them rest from their labor!"

6 That very day Pharaoh gave the taskmasters and foremen of the people this order:

7 "You shall no longer supply the people with straw for their brickmaking as you have previously done. Let them go and gather straw themselves!

8 Yet you shall levy upon them the same quota of bricks as they have previously made. Do not reduce it. They are lazy; that is why they are crying, 'Let us go to offer sacrifice to our God.'

9 Increase the work for the men, so that they keep their mind on it and pay no attention to lying words."

10 So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and told them, "Thus says Pharaoh: I will not provide you with straw.

11 Go and gather the straw yourselves, wherever you can find it. Yet there must not be the slightest reduction in your work."

12 The people, then, scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw,

13 while the taskmasters kept driving them on, saying, "Finish your work, the same daily amount as when your straw was supplied."

14 The foremen of the Israelites, whom the taskmasters of Pharaoh had placed over them, were beaten, and were asked, "Why have you not completed your prescribed amount of bricks yesterday and today, as before?"

15 Then the Israelite foremen came and made this appeal to Pharaoh: "Why do you treat your servants in this manner?

16 No straw is supplied to your servants, and still we are told to make bricks. Look how your servants are beaten! It is you who are at fault."

17 Pharaoh answered, "It is just because you are lazy that you keep saying, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to the LORD.'

18 Off to work, then! Straw shall not be provided for you, but you must still deliver your quota of bricks."

19 The Israelite foremen knew they were in a sorry plight, having been told not to reduce the daily amount of bricks.

20 When, therefore, they left Pharaoh and came upon Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them,

21 they said to them, "The LORD look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his servants and have put a sword in their hands to slay us."

22 Moses again had recourse to the LORD and said, "Lord, why do you treat this people so badly? And why did you send me on such a mission?

23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has maltreated this people of yours, and you have done nothing to rescue them."

v 1. This was a reasonable request in view of the extended time of hard labor. As they repeated only what God said, that is our mission, to simply tell what God has said.

v 2. This had actually been a command, but Pharaoh had no regard for Israel’s God. They hadn’t been helped till now, so their “god” was probably powerless. He certainly wasn’t among the many god’s Pharaoh knew about.

v 3. They added the information that God had told them to go three days away and make a sacrifice, lest God punish their neglect. Sacrificing some of the animals of Egyptian worship would have been repulsive for them to watch.

v 4,5. Pharaoh looked upon this sacrifice as a waste of time that could have been spent making bricks, and ordered that everyone go back to their jobs.

v 6-9. Till now the people had time to tend their gardens and attend meetings, but gathering straw would probably double their work load, and they would have time for nothing, or even meet their quotas. Archaeology discovers some bricks made from stubble, but straw and stubble w.brick kilns. Many archeologists can’t understand why some later pyramids were made of mud brick with just a stone covering. They do not believe Israelites helped make pyramids, but Josephus says they did. Some admit there were slaves in Egypt from Palestine or Syria, but they can not understand why they all disappeared suddenly.

v 10-14. The people still lived in Goshen, but were scattered for the gathering of straw and stubble. Israelite overseers were beaten for failure to meet quota.

v 15-19. Apparently anyone, or at least overseers had access to Pharaoh to make complaint. Their petition was reasonable and the Pharaoh’s demand was not, but he rebuked them for being idle and ordered them back to work. The overseers realized they would be beaten to death before quotas could be met under those circumstances.

v 20,21. Moses and Aaron were waiting for the results of the meeting with Pharaoh. The men were bitter that their “liberator” had possibly signaled their deaths.

v 22,23. Moses was distraught that the people he had tried to help had turned on him, but he knew where to go, back to the Lord. Leaving Aaron behind he calls out “Why? Why?” His hopes had been dashed. He had forgotten what the Lord had said in Ex 3:19, “ And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.” Just because God doesn’t answer in the time or way we think He should does not mean that He has not heard us.

Plagues Length

Exodus 5:1 First day, Moses asked to let people go.
5:6 Same day - people told to gather their own straw.
5:14-28 Two days - yesterday and today failed and overseers beaten.
Same day, they met and rebuked Moses and he called on God.