Ἔξοδος 5
1 καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰσῆλθεν Μωυσῆς καὶ Ααρων πρὸς Φαραω καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ ἐξαπόστειλον τὸν λαόν μου ἵνα μοι ἑορτάσωσιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ
After that, 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 feast to Me in the wilderness.’”
2 καὶ εἶπεν Φαραω τίς ἐστιν οὗ εἰσακούσομαι τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ὥστε ἐξαποστεῖλαι τοὺς υἱοὺς Ισραηλ οὐκ οἶδα τὸν κύριον καὶ τὸν Ισραηλ οὐκ ἐξαποστέλλω
But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
3 καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς τῶν Εβραίων προσκέκληται ἡμᾶς πορευσόμεθα οὖν ὁδὸν τριῶν ἡμερῶν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ὅπως θύσωμεν τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν μήποτε συναντήσῃ ἡμῖν θάνατος ἢ φόνος
“The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they answered. “Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”
4 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ βασιλεὺς Αἰγύπτου ἵνα τί Μωυσῆ καὶ Ααρων διαστρέφετε τὸν λαόν μου ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων ἀπέλθατε ἕκαστος ὑμῶν πρὸς τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ
But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”
5 καὶ εἶπεν Φαραω ἰδοὺ νῦν πολυπληθεῖ ὁ λαός μὴ οὖν καταπαύσωμεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων
Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you would be stopping them from their labor.”
6 συνέταξεν δὲ Φαραω τοῖς ἐργοδιώκταις τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τοῖς γραμματεῦσιν λέγων
That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen:
7 οὐκέτι προστεθήσεται διδόναι ἄχυρον τῷ λαῷ εἰς τὴν πλινθουργίαν καθάπερ ἐχθὲς καὶ τρίτην ἡμέραν αὐτοὶ πορευέσθωσαν καὶ συναγαγέτωσαν ἑαυτοῖς ἄχυρα
“You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw.
8 καὶ τὴν σύνταξιν τῆς πλινθείας ἧς αὐτοὶ ποιοῦσιν καθ’ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐπιβαλεῖς αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἀφελεῖς οὐδέν σχολάζουσιν γάρ διὰ τοῦτο κεκράγασιν λέγοντες πορευθῶμεν καὶ θύσωμεν τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν
But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
9 βαρυνέσθω τὰ ἔργα τῶν ἀνθρώπων τούτων καὶ μεριμνάτωσαν ταῦτα καὶ μὴ μεριμνάτωσαν ἐν λόγοις κενοῖς
Make the work harder on the men so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies.”
10 κατέσπευδον δὲ αὐτοὺς οἱ ἐργοδιῶκται καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ ἔλεγον πρὸς τὸν λαὸν λέγοντες τάδε λέγει Φαραω οὐκέτι δίδωμι ὑμῖν ἄχυρα
So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am no longer giving you straw.
11 αὐτοὶ ὑμεῖς πορευόμενοι συλλέγετε ἑαυτοῖς ἄχυρα ὅθεν ἐὰν εὕρητε οὐ γὰρ ἀφαιρεῖται ἀπὸ τῆς συντάξεως ὑμῶν οὐθέν
Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it; but your workload will in no way be reduced.’”
12 καὶ διεσπάρη ὁ λαὸς ἐν ὅλῃ Αἰγύπτῳ συναγαγεῖν καλάμην εἰς ἄχυρα
So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
13 οἱ δὲ ἐργοδιῶκται κατέσπευδον αὐτοὺς λέγοντες συντελεῖτε τὰ ἔργα τὰ καθήκοντα καθ’ ἡμέραν καθάπερ καὶ ὅτε τὸ ἄχυρον ἐδίδοτο ὑμῖν
The taskmasters kept pressing them, saying, “Fulfill your quota each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”
14 καὶ ἐμαστιγώθησαν οἱ γραμματεῖς τοῦ γένους τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ οἱ κατασταθέντες ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιστατῶν τοῦ Φαραω λέγοντες διὰ τί οὐ συνετελέσατε τὰς συντάξεις ὑμῶν τῆς πλινθείας καθάπερ ἐχθὲς καὶ τρίτην ἡμέραν καὶ τὸ τῆς σήμερον
Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”
15 εἰσελθόντες δὲ οἱ γραμματεῖς τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ κατεβόησαν πρὸς Φαραω λέγοντες ἵνα τί οὕτως ποιεῖς τοῖς σοῖς οἰκέταις
So the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way?
16 ἄχυρον οὐ δίδοται τοῖς οἰκέταις σου καὶ τὴν πλίνθον ἡμῖν λέγουσιν ποιεῖν καὶ ἰδοὺ οἱ παῖδές σου μεμαστίγωνται ἀδικήσεις οὖν τὸν λαόν σου
No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
17 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς σχολάζετε σχολασταί ἐστε διὰ τοῦτο λέγετε πορευθῶμεν θύσωμεν τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν
“You are slackers!” Pharaoh replied. “Slackers! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’
18 νῦν οὖν πορευθέντες ἐργάζεσθε τὸ γὰρ ἄχυρον οὐ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν καὶ τὴν σύνταξιν τῆς πλινθείας ἀποδώσετε
Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.”
19 ἑώρων δὲ οἱ γραμματεῖς τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ ἑαυτοὺς ἐν κακοῖς λέγοντες οὐκ ἀπολείψετε τῆς πλινθείας τὸ καθῆκον τῇ ἡμέρᾳ
The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks.”
20 συνήντησαν δὲ Μωυσῇ καὶ Ααρων ἐρχομένοις εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτοῖς ἐκπορευομένων αὐτῶν ἀπὸ Φαραω
When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.
21 καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς ἴδοι ὁ θεὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ κρίναι ὅτι ἐβδελύξατε τὴν ὀσμὴν ἡμῶν ἐναντίον Φαραω καὶ ἐναντίον τῶν θεραπόντων αὐτοῦ δοῦναι ῥομφαίαν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι ἡμᾶς
“May the LORD look upon you and judge you,” the foremen said, “for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!”
22 ἐπέστρεψεν δὲ Μωυσῆς πρὸς κύριον καὶ εἶπεν κύριε διὰ τί ἐκάκωσας τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον καὶ ἵνα τί ἀπέσταλκάς με
So Moses returned to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me?
23 καὶ ἀφ’ οὗ πεπόρευμαι πρὸς Φαραω λαλῆσαι ἐπὶ τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι ἐκάκωσεν τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον καὶ οὐκ ἐρρύσω τὸν λαόν σου
Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and You have not delivered Your people in any way.”
