Exodus 5:6–14

Further Oppression of Israel

⁶That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers ^uof the people as well as their foremen: ⁷“Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out, ^v‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words.”

¹⁰So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ^w‘I am not giving you straw. ¹¹Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’ ” ¹²So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³The overseers insisted, “Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided.” ¹⁴Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten ^xand asked, “Why haven’t you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”