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¹ And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.² And Pharaoh said, Who [is] the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

³ And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice to the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.⁴ And the king of Egypt said to them, Why do ye, Moses and Aaron, hinder the people from their works; go you to your burdens.⁵ And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now [are] many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.⁶ And Pharaoh commanded the same day the task-masters of the people, and their officers, saying,⁷ Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore; let them go and gather straw for themselves.⁸ And the number of the bricks which they made heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish [aught] thereof; for they are idle: therefore they cry, saying, Let us go [and] sacrifice to our God.⁹ Let more work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein: and let them not regard vain words.

¹⁰ And the task-masters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.¹¹ Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not aught of your work shall be diminished.¹² So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble instead of straw.¹³ And the task-masters hastened [them], saying, Fulfill your works, [your] daily tasks, as when there was straw.¹⁴ And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's task-masters had set over them, were beaten, [and] demanded, Why have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick, both yesterday and to-day, as heretofore?

¹⁵ Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, saying, Why dealest thou thus with thy servants?¹⁶ There is no straw given to thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and behold, thy servants [are] beaten; but the fault [is] in thy own people.¹⁷ But he said, Ye [are] idle, [ye are] idle: therefore ye say, Let us go, [and] do sacrifice to the LORD.¹⁸ Go therefore now, [and] work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the number of bricks.¹⁹ And the officers of the children of Israel saw [that] they [were] in evil [case], after it was said, Ye shall not diminish [aught] from your bricks of your daily task.²⁰ And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:²¹ And they said to them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hands to slay us.²² And Moses returned to the LORD, and said, Lord, why hast thou [so] ill treated this people? why [is] it [that] thou hast sent me?²³ For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.