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Exodus chapter 5

English Standard Version

1Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’" 2But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go." 3Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days ' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." 4But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens." 5And Pharaoh said, "Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!" 6The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7"You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words."
10So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’" 12So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13The taskmasters were urgent, saying, "Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw." 14And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh 's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?"
15Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, "Why do you treat your servants like this? 16No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people." 17But he said, "You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks." 19The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, "You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day." 20They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21and they said to them, "The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all."
New International Version

1Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’ "
2Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go."
3Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword."
4But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!" 5Then Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working."
6That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7"You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."
10Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’ " 12So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw." 14And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, "Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?"
15Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way? 16Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people."
17Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks."
19The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day." 20When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21and they said, "May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 23Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."
New American Standard Bible

1And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Let My people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’?' 2But Pharaoh said, 'Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.' 3Then they said, 'The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.' 4But the king of Egypt said to them, 'Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their work? Get back to your labors!' 5Again Pharaoh said, 'Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!' 6So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying, 7You are no longer to give the people straw to make bricks as previously; have them go and gather straw for themselves. 8But you shall impose on them the quota of bricks which they were making before; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, for that reason they cry out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9Let the labor be heavier on the men, and have them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.'
10So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, 'This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not going to give you any straw. 11You go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.’?' 12So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, 'Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.' 14Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and asked, 'Why have you not completed your required task of making bricks either yesterday or today, as before?'
15Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, 'Why do you deal this way with your servants? 16There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.' 17But he said, 'You are lazy, very lazy; for that reason you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, but you must deliver the quota of bricks.' 19The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble, since they were told, 'You must not reduce your daily amount of bricks.' 20When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were waiting for them. 21And they said to them, 'May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have made us repulsive in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us!'
22Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, 'Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? 23Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all.'
Christian Standard Bible

1Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness."
2But Pharaoh responded, "Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go."
3They answered, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword."
4The king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor!" 5Pharaoh also said, "Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labor."
6That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers of the people as well as their foremen: 7"Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. 8But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words."
10So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, "This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not giving you straw. 11Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’" 12So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13The overseers insisted, "Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided." 14Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten and asked, "Why haven’t you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?"
15So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: "Why are you treating your servants this way? 16No straw has been given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but it is your own people who are at fault."
17But he said, "You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18Now get to work. No straw will be given to you, but you must produce the same quantity of bricks."
19The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, "You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks." 20When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.
21"May the Lord take note of you and judge," they said to them, "because you have made us reek to Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!"
22So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, "Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me? 23Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all."
New Living Translation

1After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.'
2Is that so?' retorted Pharaoh. 'And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.'
3But Aaron and Moses persisted. 'The God of the Hebrews has met with us,' they declared. 'So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.'
4Pharaoh replied, 'Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! 5Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.'
6That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen: 7Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves! 8But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’ 9Load them down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!'
10So the slave drivers and foremen went out and told the people: 'This is what Pharaoh says: I will not provide any more straw for you. 11Go and get it yourselves. Find it wherever you can. But you must produce just as many bricks as before!' 12So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt in search of stubble to use as straw.
13Meanwhile, the Egyptian slave drivers continued to push hard. 'Meet your daily quota of bricks, just as you did when we provided you with straw!' they demanded. 14Then they whipped the Israelite foremen they had put in charge of the work crews. 'Why haven’t you met your quotas either yesterday or today?' they demanded.
15So the Israelite foremen went to Pharaoh and pleaded with him. 'Please don’t treat your servants like this,' they begged. 16We are given no straw, but the slave drivers still demand, ‘Make bricks!’ We are being beaten, but it isn’t our fault! Your own people are to blame!'
17But Pharaoh shouted, 'You’re just lazy! Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ 18Now get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce the full quota of bricks.'
19The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, 'You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.' 20As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. 21The foremen said to them, 'May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!'
22Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, 'Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? 23Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!'
King James Version

1And 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, your daily 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 and do 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.
New King James Version

1Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ”
2And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”
3So they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”
4Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.” 5And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”
6So 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. 8And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”
10And 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. 11Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’ ” 12So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. 13And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.” 14Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”
15Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why are you dealing thus with your servants? 16There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick!’ And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.”
17But he said, “You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.” 19And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, “You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.”
20Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. 21And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
22So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? 23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

What does Exodus chapter 5 mean?

This passage describes the first meeting between Moses and Aaron and the Egyptian ruler, Pharaoh. The two men deliver a message from the Lord (Exodus 3:18). While the goal is Israel's liberation (Exodus 3:10), this request is for some-thing less: leave to worship for a while in the wilderness. As expected (Exodus 3:19), Pharaoh sneers at the idea of Isra-el's God and refuses. Instead, he dismisses the two messengers with a command to get back to work (Exodus 5:1–4).

The request appears to irritate the pharaoh. He muses that perhaps he's not being harsh enough on the Israelite slaves. So, he spitefully commands that they no longer be given straw—a necessary compo-nent for their work making bricks (Exodus 1:13–14). Yet they will be held accountable for the same level of produc-tion. This is impossible, which is exactly the point. This is a "power move" meant to humiliate Israel, to remind them of their place, and to intimidate them from listening to men like Moses (Exodus 5:5–9).

The slave driv-ers placed over the Hebrews (Exodus 1:11) pass this command to the Israelite men assigned as supervisors for their fellow slaves. The people are frantic. They search and scrabble to find enough straw to mix with mud and sand to make bricks. While Egyptians are brilliant farmers, the land itself is not lush. Grasses are not found easily. Without leftover stalks to use for straw, the Israelites have no chance to scavenge enough on their own. When the quotas are not met, the foremen are beaten and blamed for failure (Exodus 5:10–14).

When the abused Israeli foremen appeal to Pharaoh, they realize what has happened. They are told that the problem is not a lack of straw, but a lack of effort. This is obviously false; Pharaoh cruelly says that if the people have time to ask for leave, they must not be working hard enough. The point is clear: Egypt has power, not Israel, and you will suffer if you challenge it (Exodus 5:15–19).

This re-sults in a backlash against Moses and Aaron. The people are angry because Pharaoh is retaliating, and they blame God's two messengers for provoking their new suffering. This foreshadows a common theme in the book of Exodus: when things become difficult, the people turn against Moses with complaints and accusations (Exodus 14:11; 15:24; 16:2; 17:3; Numbers 14:2–4). For now, the infighting is another part of Pharaoh's plot to keep the Hebrews subjugat-ed. Moses is disappointed and confused. He sees no reason things should be worse when he's following the Lord's commands (Exodus 5:20–23).

In the next passage, the Lord gives reassurance (Exodus 6:1).
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