1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.
2 And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah; neither will I let Israel go.
3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now, let us go three days journey into the desert and sacrifice unto Jehovah our God, that He not fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.
4 And the king of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why do you restrain the people from their work? Go to your burdens.
5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land are many now, and you have made them cease from their burdens.
6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,
7 You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 And you shall lay on them the tally of bricks which they made before. You shall not diminish it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
9 Let more labor be laid upon the men, that they may work in it, and let them not regard deceptive words.
10 And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, Thus says Pharaoh: I will not give you straw.
11 Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your labor shall be diminished.
12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
13 And the taskmasters were pressing upon them saying, Fulfill your work, the matter of each day, as when there was straw.
14 And the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaohs taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, Why have you not completed the prescribed amount to make brick, both yesterday and today, as before?
15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, Why are you dealing thus with your servants?
16 There is no straw given to your slaves, and they say to us, Make brick! And behold, your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.
17 But he said, You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah.
18 Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the amount of bricks.
19 And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in a bad way after it was said, You shall not diminish any bricks from the matter day by day.
20 And, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron standing there to meet them.
21 And they said to them, Jehovah look upon you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.
22 And Moses returned to Jehovah and said, Lord, why have You brought hurt upon this people? Why then have You sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You rescued to deliver Your people.