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!’”

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!”

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].”

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!”

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!”

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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]

12 So the Israeli people went all over Egypt to find 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!”

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]?”

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

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]!”

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.’

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!”

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.”

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

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!”

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]?

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!”