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1 And afterward Mosheh and Aharon went in, and said to Pharoh: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Let My people go, to solemnize a feast (yechagun) before Me in the desert. 2 And Pharoh said, The name of the Lord is not know to me, that I should hearken to His word to send Israel away. The name of the Lord is not revealed to me, and Israel I shall not release. 3 And they said, The God of the Jehudaee hath revealed Himself to us; let us now go three days’ journey into the desert to sacrifice before the Lord our God, lest He come upon us with death or with slaughter. 4 And the king of Mizraim said to them, Why, Mosheh and Aharon, do you hinder the people from their works? Go to your employment. 5 And Pharoh said, Behold now, the people of the land are many, and you make them relax from their employment. 6 And Pharoh that day commanded the masters of the people and the overseers, saying, 7 You shall not continue (add) to give straw to the people to cast bricks, as heretofore; let them go and collect straw for themselves; 8 Yet the number of bricks which they have made heretofore you shall still lay upon them and not diminish; for they are idle, and therefore cry, saying, We will go and sacrifice before our God. 9 Make labour heavy upon the men: let them be occupied with it, and not with vain words.
10 And the masters of the people and the overseers went forth and spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharoh, I will not give you straw; 11 You shall go and gather up straw for yourselves wheresoever you can find it; though from you work there shall be mother diminished. 12 And the people were scattered abroad over all the country of Mizraim to gather stubble for straw. 13 And the masters were urgent, saying, Fulfil your work, the matter of a day in a day, as you did when straw was given to you. 14 And the masters whom Pharoh set over the sons of Israel smote them, saying, Why do you not fulfil your requirement to cast bricks as heretofore, as yesterday, so also today?
15 And the overseers of the sons of Israel came and complained before Pharoh, saying, Why hast thou done thus with thy servants? 16 Thou hast not given thy servants straw, yet they say to us, Make bricks; and, behold, thy servants are beaten, and thy people sin against us. 17 But he said, You are idle: therefore you say, We will go and sacrifice before the Lord. 18 And now go, work: but straw I will not give you; yet the number of bricks you shall render. 19 And the overseers of the sons of Israel perceived that they were in evil: for they said to them, You shall not diminish form your bricks the matter of a day, in a day. 20 And they met Mosheh and Aharon standing before them in their coming out from being with Pharoh. 21 And they said to them, May the Lord manifest Himself to you and adjudge; because you have made our savour evil in the eyes of Pharoh, and in the eyes of his servants, and have put a sword into their hands to kill us!
22 And Mosheh returned before the Lord and said, O Lord, why hast Thou done evil unto this people, and wherefore didst Thou send me? 23 And from the time that I went in to Pharoh to speak in Thy name he hath done evil to this people, but liberating Thou hast not liberated Thy people.