Exodus 5

5 ¹ Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what our Father of Israel says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a feast for me in the wilderness."

² But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Father, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Father, and I will not let Israel go."

³ Then they said, "Our Father has met with us. Please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to our Father, or he may strike us with plague or with the sword."

⁴ But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to work!" ⁵ And Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you want them to stop their work!"

⁶ That same day Pharaoh commanded the slave drivers and the foremen over the people: ⁷ "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before. Let them go and gather their own straw. ⁸ But require of them the same quota of bricks they made before; do not reduce it. They are lazy; that is why they cry out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our Father.' ⁹ Make the work harder for the men, so that they keep at it and pay no attention to lies."

¹⁰ So the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw. ¹¹ Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it—but your work will not be reduced in the least.'" ¹² So the people scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, "Finish the work required of you each day, just as when you had straw." ¹⁴ And the foremen of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh's slave drivers had set over them, were beaten and asked, "Why have you not met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?"

¹⁵ Then the foremen of the Israelites came and cried out to Pharaoh, "Why do you treat your servants this way? ¹⁶ No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, 'Make bricks!' Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault lies with your own people."

¹⁷ Pharaoh said, "Lazy—that is what you are, lazy! That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our Father.'" ¹⁸ Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks."

¹⁹ The foremen of the Israelites realized they were in trouble when they were told, "You must not reduce the number of bricks required of you each day." ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, ²¹ and they said to them, "May our Father look on you and judge, for you have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."

²² Then Moses returned to our Father and said, "My Sovereign Father, why have you brought trouble on this people? Why did you ever send me?

²³ Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought harm on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."