Exodus 5

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

²Pharaoh said, "Who is God, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I don't know God, and I won't let Israel go."

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

⁴But Egypt's king said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why pull the people from their work? Get back to your labor!" ⁵Pharaoh said, "Look, the land's people are now many, and you'd have them stop working!"

⁶That same day Pharaoh commanded the slave drivers and the foremen over the people: ⁷"Stop giving the people straw for bricks as before. They must go gather straw themselves.

⁸Require the same brick quota as before; don't reduce it. They're lazy; that's why they cry, 'Let us go sacrifice to our God.' ⁹Make the work harder for the men, so they keep at it and ignore lies."

¹⁰The slave drivers and foremen went out and told the people, "Pharaoh says: 'I will give you no more straw.' ¹¹Go get your own straw wherever you find it—but your work will not be reduced at all.'" ¹²So the people scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³The slave drivers kept pressing them: "Finish your daily quota, just as when you had straw." ¹⁴The Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh's slave drivers had set over them, were beaten and asked, "Why haven't you met your brick quota yesterday and today, as before?"

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

¹⁷Pharaoh said, "Lazy! You're lazy! That's why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to God.' ¹⁸Now go, work. No straw will be given you, yet you must deliver your full quota of bricks."

¹⁹The Israelite foremen saw they were in trouble when told, "Don't reduce your daily quota of bricks." ²⁰When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, ²¹and said to them, "May our Father look on you and judge, for you have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials, putting a sword in their hand to kill us."

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

²³Since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has harmed this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."