Exodus 5

1 Then Aaron and Moses/I went to the king and [one of them/us] said, “Yahweh God, whom [we] Israeli people [worship], says this [to you]: ‘Let my people go to the desert, in order that they may have a feast to [honor] me!’”

And after that Moses and Aaron went in, and said unto Pharaoh, Thus hath said the Everlasting One, the God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

2 But the king said, “Who is Yahweh? Why should I pay attention to what he says and let the Israeli [people] [MTY] go? I do not know Yahweh! And furthermore, I will not let the Israeli [people] go!”

And Pharaoh said, Who is the Everlasting, whose voice I am to obey, to let Israel go? I know not the Everlasting, nor will I let Israel go.

3 They/we replied, “Yahweh God, the one we Hebrews [worship], has (revealed himself/appeared) to us [and told us what to tell you]. So we ask you to [please] let us go on a three day journey into the desert. We must offer sacrifices to Yahweh God [there]. [If we do] not do that, he will cause us to die [IDM] from diseases or from attacks [by our enemies] [MTY].”

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

4 But the king of Egypt said to them/us, “Moses and Aaron, (stop trying to keep the Israeli people from working/why are you preventing the Israeli people from working?) [RHQ] [Tell those slaves] to return to work!”

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

5 The king also said, “Listen [to me! You] people [who now live] in this land are now [more] numerous, and you want them [to stop working and] rest!”

And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye disturb them in the pursuit of their labors.

6 That same day the king commanded the Egyptian slave bosses and the [Israeli] men supervising the slaves,

And Pharaoh commanded on the same day the taskmasters of the people, and its officers, saying,

7 “Do not continue to give the [Israeli] people straw for making bricks, as you have done previously. Make them go [into the fields] and gather straw for themselves.

Ye shall no more give the people straw to make the bricks, as yesterday and the day before; they themselves shall go and gather themselves straw.

8 But require them to make the same number of bricks that they did before. Do not decrease the number at all. They (are lazy/do not have enough work to do). That is the reason they are asking me to let them go [into the desert] to offer sacrifices to their god.

And the number of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall impose upon them, ye shall not diminish aught thereof; for they are idle: therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

9 Force the men to work harder, so that they will not [have time] to listen to lies [from their leaders]!”

Let the work be made to lie heavily upon the men, that they may have enough to do therein; and that they may not pay attention to false words.

10 So the slave bosses and supervisors of the slaves went to where the [Israeli] people were and said to them, “The king has said that he will no longer give you any straw.

And the taskmasters of the people and its officers went out, and they said to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you any straw.

11 [So] you yourselves must go and get straw wherever you can find it. But you must still keep working to make the same number of bricks as before.” [LIT]

Go ye, get yourselves straw from wherever ye can find it; yet not the least shall be taken off from your work.

12 So the Israeli people went all over Egypt to find straw.

And the people scattered themselves abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

13 The slave bosses kept telling them insistently, “Finish the work you are required to do each day, [making the same amount of bricks] as you did [before, when we gave you] straw!”

And the taskmasters were urgent, saying, Fulfill your works, every day its due portion, just as when there was straw.

14 [When they were not able to do that], the slave bosses had the [Israeli supervisors] beaten [with sticks], and they asked them, “Why have [all the men you are supervising] not been able to make [the same number] of bricks today/now as [they did] before [RHQ]?”

And the officers of the children of Israel, whom the taskmasters of Pharaoh had set over them, were beaten, as these said, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick as heretofore, both yesterday and today?

15 Then the Israeli supervisors went to the king and complained, saying “[Your Majesty], why are you treating us this way?

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

16 [Now] they are not giving us any straw [for making bricks], but they keep commanding us to make bricks. And now sometimes they beat us. But it is the fault of your own slave bosses [that we cannot make as many bricks as before]!”

Straw is not given unto thy servants, and, Make bricks, say they to us: and, behold, thy servants are beaten, and thy people are treated as sinners.

17 But the king said, “You are lazy and do not [want to] work! That is why you keep saying, ‘Allow us to go [to the desert] and offer sacrifices to Yahweh.’

But he said, Idle are ye, idle; therefore say ye, Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.

18 So go and get back to work! [We] are not going to give you any straw, but you must keep making the same number of bricks!”

And now go, work, and straw shall not be given you; yet the required number of bricks shall ye deliver.

19 The Israeli supervisors realized that they were in a difficult situation, because they had been told, “We are not going to decrease the number of bricks [you must make] each day.”

And the officers of the children of Israel saw themselves in the evil necessity to say, Ye shall not diminish aught from your bricks, every day of its task.

20 As they left the king’s [palace], they met Aaron and Moses/me, who were waiting for them [there].

And they met Moses and Aaron, standing in their way, as they came forth from Pharaoh.

21 They said to Aaron and Moses/me, “Yahweh has seen [what] you two [have done] He will punish you [MTY], because you have caused the king and his officials to despise us! You have given them an excuse [MTY] to kill us!”

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

22 Moses/I left them and prayed to Yahweh again, saying, “O Yahweh, why have you caused all these evil things to happen to your people [RHQ]? And why did you send me [here] [RHQ]?

And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou let so much evil come upon this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

23 Ever since I went to the king and told him what you told me to say [MTY], he has treated your people very cruelly, and you have not done anything to help/rescue them!”

For, since I came unto Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done more evil to this people; but thou hast in nowise delivered thy people.