^5:15³⁸ The Israelite foremen went and cried out to Pharaoh, “Why are you treating³⁹ your servants this way? ^5:16No straw is given to your servants, but we are told,⁴⁰ ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are even⁴¹ being beaten, but the fault⁴² is with your people.”

^5:17But Pharaoh replied,⁴³ “You are slackers! Slackers!⁴⁴ That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’ ^5:18So now, get back to work!⁴⁵ You will not be given straw, but you must still produce⁴⁶ your quota⁴⁷ of bricks!” ^5:19The Israelite foremen saw⁴⁸ that they⁴⁹ were in trouble when they were told,⁵⁰ “You must not reduce the daily quota of your bricks.”

^5:20When they went out from Pharaoh, they encountered Moses and Aaron standing there to meet them,⁵¹^5:21and they said to them, “May the Lord look on you and judge,⁵² because you have made us stink⁵³ in the opinion of⁵⁴ Pharaoh and his servants,⁵⁵ so that you have given them an excuse to kill us!”⁵⁶

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Footnotes

38 The last section of this event tells the effect of the oppression on Israel, first on the people (15–19) and then on Moses and Aaron (20–21). The immediate reaction of Israel was to cry to Pharaoh—something they would learn should be directed to God. When Pharaoh rebuffed them harshly, they turned bitterly against their leaders.
39 The imperfect tense should be classified here with the progressive imperfect nuance, because the harsh treatment was a present reality.
40 Heb “[they] are saying to us,” the line can be rendered as a passive since there is no expressed subject for the participle.
41 הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to the action reflected in the passive participle מֻכִּים (mukkim): “look, your servants are being beaten.”
42 The word rendered “fault” is the basic OT verb for “sin”—וְחָטָאת (vékhata’t). The problem is that it is pointed as a perfect tense, feminine singular verb. Some other form of the verb would be expected, or a noun. But the basic word-group means “to err, sin, miss the mark, way, goal.” The word in this context seems to indicate that the people of Pharaoh—the slave masters—have failed to provide the straw. Hence: “fault” or “they failed.” But, as indicated, the line has difficult grammar, for it would literally translate: “and you [fem.] sin your people.” Many commentators (so §74.g) wish to emend the text to read with the Greek and the , thus: “you sin against your own people” (meaning the Israelites are his loyal subjects).
43 Heb “And he said.”
44 Or “loafers.” The form נִרְפִּים (nirpim) is derived from the verb רָפָה (rafah), meaning “to be weak, to let oneself go.”
45 The text has two imperatives: “go, work.” They may be used together to convey one complex idea (so a use of hendiadys): “go back to work.”
46 The imperfect תִּתֵּנּוּ (tittennu) is here taken as an obligatory imperfect: “you must give” or “you must produce.”
47 B. Jacob is amazed at the wealth of this tyrant’s vocabulary in describing the work of others. Here, תֹכֶן (tokhen) is another word for “quota” of bricks, the fifth word used to describe their duty (Exodus, 137).
48 The common Hebrew verb translated “saw,” like the common English verb for seeing, is also used to refer to mental perception and understanding, as in the question “See what I mean?” The foremen understood how difficult things would be under this ruling.
49 The text has the sign of the accusative with a suffix and then a prepositional phrase: אֹתָם בְּרָע (’otam béra’), meaning something like “[they saw] them in trouble” or “themselves in trouble.” Gesenius shows a few examples where the accusative of the reflexive pronoun is represented by the sign of the accusative with a suffix, and these with marked emphasis ( §135.k).
50 The clause “when they were told” translates לֵאמֹר (le’mor), which usually simply means “saying.” The thing that was said was clearly the decree that was given to them.
51 Moses and Aaron would not have made the appeal to Pharaoh that these Hebrew foremen did, but they were concerned to see what might happen, and so they waited to meet the foremen when they came out.
52 The foremen vented their anger on Moses and Aaron. The two jussives express their desire that the evil these two have caused be dealt with. “May Yahweh look on you and may he judge” could mean only that God should decide if Moses and Aaron are at fault, but given the rest of the comments it is clear the foremen want more. The second jussive could be subordinated to the first—“so that he may judge [you].”
53 Heb “you have made our aroma stink.”
54 Heb “in the eyes of.”
55 Heb “in the eyes of his servants.” This phrase is not repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
56 Heb “to put a sword in their hand to kill us.” The infinitive construct with the lamed (לָתֶת, latet) signifies the result (“so that”) of making the people stink. Their reputation is now so bad that Pharaoh might gladly put them to death. The next infinitive could also be understood as expressing result: “put a sword in their hand so that they can kill us.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”

The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way? No straw has been given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but it is your own people who are at fault.”

But he said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’ Now get to work. No straw will be given to you, but you must produce the same quantity of bricks.”

The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks.” When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.

“May the Lord take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek to Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!”

NLTNew Living Translation

So the Israelite foremen went to Pharaoh and pleaded with him. “Please don’t treat your servants like this,” they begged. “We are given no straw, but the slave drivers still demand, ‘Make bricks!’ We are being beaten, but it isn’t our fault! Your own people are to blame!”

But Pharaoh shouted, “You’re just lazy! Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ Now get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce the full quota of bricks.”

The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.” As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. The foremen said to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And the foremen of the Israelites came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you treat your servants like this? Straw is not being given to your servants, but they are saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ and, look, your servants are being beaten, but it is the fault of your people.” And he said, “You are lazy, lazy! Therefore you are saying, ‘Let us go; let us sacrifice to Yahweh.’ And now go, work, but straw will not be given to you, and you must give the full quota of bricks.”

And the foremen of the Israelites saw they were in trouble with the saying, “You will not reduce from your bricks for each day on its day.” And they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them when they were going out from Pharaoh. And they said to them, “May Yahweh look upon you and judge because you have caused our fragrance to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants so as to put a sword into their hand to kill us.”

KJV 1900King James Version

Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

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