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¹ And afterward Moses and Aaron came in and said to Pharaoh, So says Jehovah the God of Israel, Send away My people, and they shall feast to Me in the wilderness.² And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah that I should listen to His voice to send away Israel? I do not know Jehovah, and I also will not send Israel away.

³ And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us go a journey of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to Jehovah our God, that He not strike us with plague or with sword.⁴ And the king of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why do you loose the people from their work? You go to your burdens.⁵ And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land are many now, and you make them cease from their burdens.⁶ And Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, and their overseers, that day, saying,⁷ You shall not go on giving straw to the people to make bricks, as yesterday and the third day. They shall go and pick up straw for themselves.⁸ And the fixed number of bricks which they were making yesterday and the third day you shall put on them. You shall not diminish from it. For they are idle; so they are crying,saying, Let us go, let us sacrifice to ourGod.⁹ Let the bondage be heavy on the men, that they may work in it, and may not trust in the lying words.

¹⁰ And the taskmasters of the people, and their overseers went out and spoke to the people, saying, Pharaoh has said this, I will not give you straw.¹¹ You go take straw for yourselves from wherever you may find it. For not a thing will be reduced from your work.¹² And the people scattered in all the land of Egypt to pick up stubble for straw.¹³ And the taskmasters were demanding, saying, Finish your work, the matter of a day in its day, as when there was straw.¹⁴ And the overseers of the sons of Israel were beaten, those whom the taskmasters of Pharaoh had put over them, saying, Why have you not finished your appointed task, to make bricks as a day ago and the day before, both yesterday andtoday?

¹⁵ And the overseers of the sons of Israel came in and cried to Pharaoh, saying, Why do you do this way to your slaves?¹⁶ No straw is given to your slaves, and they are saying to us, Make bricks. And, behold, your slaves are beaten, but your people are at fault.¹⁷ And he said, You are lazy and idle. So you are saying, Let us go, let us sacrifice to Jehovah.¹⁸ Therefore, go now and work. And straw will not be given to you; and a certain number of bricks you shall deliver.¹⁹ And the overseers of the sons of Israel saw themselves in affliction, saying, You shall not diminish from your bricks, the matter of a day in its day.²⁰ And they met Moses and Aaron standing to meet them when they came from Pharaoh.²¹ And they said to them, May Jehovah look on you and judge, you who have made our odor to stink in Pharaoh's eyes and in the eyes of his servants, to give a sword in their hands to kill us.²² And Moses returned to Jehovah and said, Lord, why have You done evil to this people? Why then have You sent me?²³ And since I came in to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people. And You did not certainly deliver your people.