After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron
went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the Lord, the God
of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in
the wilderness.”
“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why
should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I
will not let Israel go.”
But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met
with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the
wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we
don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.”
Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the
people from their tasks? Get back to work! Look, there are many of your
people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”
That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave
drivers and the Israelite foremen: “Do not supply any more straw for
making bricks. Make the people get it themselves! But still require them
to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy. That’s
why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’ Load them
down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!”
So the slave drivers and foremen went out and told the people:
“This is what Pharaoh says: I will not provide any more straw for you. Go and
get it yourselves. Find it wherever you can. But you must produce just as many
bricks as before!” So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt in
search of stubble to use as straw.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian slave drivers continued to push hard.
“Meet your daily quota of bricks, just as you did when we provided you with
straw!” they demanded. Then they whipped the Israelite foremen they had
put in charge of the work crews. “Why haven’t you met your quotas either
yesterday or today?” they demanded.
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!”
Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why
have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send
me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more
brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!”
~ Source : Exodus 5:1-23 [Holy Bible -NLT]
taken from https://www.biblegateway.com
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