⁷“Stop giving the people straw for making bricks. Make them go and find it for themselves. ⁸But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before, not one brick less. They haven’t enough work to do, and that is why they keep asking me to let them go and offer sacrifices to their God! ⁹Make these people work harder and keep them busy, so that they won’t have time to listen to a pack of lies.”

¹⁰The slave-drivers and the Israelite foremen went out and said to the Israelites, “The king has said that he will not supply you with any more straw. ¹¹He says that you must go and get it for yourselves wherever you can find it, but you must still make the same number of bricks.” ¹²So the people went all over Egypt looking for straw. ¹³The slave-drivers kept trying to force them to make the same number of bricks every day as they had made when they were given straw. ¹⁴The Egyptian slave-drivers beat the Israelite foremen, whom they had put in charge of the work. They demanded, “Why aren’t you people making the same number of bricks as you made before?”

¹⁵Then the foremen went to the king and complained, “Why do you do this to us, Your Majesty? ¹⁶We are given no straw, but we are still ordered to make bricks! And now we are being beaten. It is your people that are at fault.”

¹⁷The king answered, “You are lazy and don’t want to work, and that is why you ask me to let you go and offer sacrifices to the Lord. ¹⁸Now get back to work! You will not be given any straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks.” ¹⁹The foremen realized that they were in trouble when they were told that they had to make the same number of bricks every day as they had made before.

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