¹⁸ “The elders of Israel will listen^(A) to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,^(B) has met^(C) with us. Let us take a three-day journey^(D) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices^(E) to the Lord our God.’

²³ and I told you, “Let my son go,^(A) so he may worship^(B) me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”^(C)

Bricks Without Straw

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go,^(A) so that they may hold a festival^(B) to me in the wilderness.’”

³ Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey^(A) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues^(B) or with the sword.”

8 ^1 [a]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship^(A) me.