Bricks Without Straw
1 Then afterward Moses went,
and Aaron,
and said to Pharaoh,
"Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel,
Send forth my people,
that they might celebrate to me
in the wilderness."
2 But Pharaoh
said,
"Who is Yahweh,
that I should listen to his voice
to send forth Israel?
I do not know Yahweh,
and also I will not send forth Israel."
3 And said,
"The God of the Hebrews has met with us.
Let us go now,
three days away
into the wilderness,
and sacrifice to Yahweh our
God,
lest he fall upon us
with pestilence or with sword."
4 But the King of Egypt said
to them,
"Why, Moses
and Aaron,
do the people refuse from their work?
Get to your burdens!"
5 And Pharaoh said,
Behold, your people have multiplied
in the land,
but you make them rest
from thier burdens."
6 And on that day,
Pharaoh commanded
the taskmasters of the people,
and the officers, saying,
7 "Do not give straw anymore to the people,
to make bricks as you did before,
but let them go and gather
straw for themselves.
8 But the quota of bricks
which they made yesterday before,
you shall keep upon them,
do not diminish from it."
"It is because they are lazy,
that is why they shriek, saying,
let us go sacrifice to our God.
9 Let the slavery be heavier upon the men,
so they will do it,
and do not let them hear vain words."
10 So the taskmasters of the people
and their officers
went out and spoke to all the people,
saying,
"Thus says Pharaoh,
I will not give you straw.
11 You go get straw for yourselves
wherever you may find it,
for your work quota will not be diminished.
12 So the people scattered in all the land of Egypt,
to gather stubble for straw.
13 And the taskmasters pressed them,
saying,
"Fulfill your work quota every day,
just as when there was straw."
14 And the officers beat the sons of Israel,
which the taskmasters of Pharaoh
set over them, saying,
"Why have you not fulfilled the tasks
of brickmaking today as you did
yesterday and the day before?"