Exodus 5:1-14 - Pharaoh Rejects Yahweh's Authority

¹ Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They said: Jehovah, the God of Israel, says: 'Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to me in the wilderness.'

² But Pharaoh responded: Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, and besides, I will not let Israel go.

³ Then they said: The God of the Hebrews met with us. Please, let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness. Then we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God. Otherwise he will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword. ⁴ The king of Egypt replied: Moses and Aaron, why do you distract the people from their work? Get back to work! ⁵ Pharaoh added: Look how many people there are in the land! Do you want them to quit working?

⁶ Pharaoh gave these orders to the slave drivers and foremen: ⁷ Do not give the people any more straw to make bricks as you have been doing. Let them gather their own straw. ⁸ Insist that they make the same number of bricks they were making before. Making fewer bricks will not be acceptable. They are lazy! That is why they are crying: Let us go offer sacrifices to our God. ⁹ Make the work harder for these people so that they will be too busy to listen to lies.

¹⁰ The slave drivers and the Israelite foremen went out and said to the Israelites: The king has said that he will not supply you with any more straw. ¹¹ He says that you must go and get it for yourselves wherever you can find it. You must still make the same number of bricks. ¹² So the people went all over Egypt looking for straw. ¹³ The slave bosses were hard on them. They kept saying: Each day you have to make as many bricks as you did when you were given straw. ¹⁴ The bosses beat the men in charge of the slaves and said: Why did you not force the slaves to make as many bricks yesterday and today as they did before?