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.’”

² Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,^(C) that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”^(D)

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

⁴ But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?^(G) Get back to your work!” ⁵ Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,^(H) and you are stopping them from working.”

⁶ That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers^(I) and overseers in charge of the people: ⁷ “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;^(J) let them go and gather their own straw. ⁸ But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.^(K) They are lazy;^(L) that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’^{(M) 9} Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

¹⁰ Then the slave drivers^(N) and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. ¹¹ Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced^(O) at all.’” ¹² So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. ¹³ The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” ¹⁴ And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed,^(P) demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

¹⁵ Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? ¹⁶ 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.”

¹⁷ Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy!^(Q) That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Now get to work.^(R) You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”

¹⁹ 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.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, ²¹ and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge^(S) you! You have made us obnoxious^(T) to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword^(U) in their hand to kill us.”^(V)

God Promises Deliverance

²² Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?^(W) Is this why you sent me? ²³ Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued^(X) your people at all.”

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand^(Y) he will let them go;^(Z) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”^(AA)

² God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.^{(AB) 3} I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,^[a](AC) but by my name^(AD) the Lord^[b](AE) I did not make myself fully known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant^(AF) with them to give them the land^(AG) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.^{(AH) 5} Moreover, I have heard the groaning^(AI) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.^(AJ)

⁶ “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.^(AK) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem^(AL) you with an outstretched arm^(AM) and with mighty acts of judgment.^{(AN) 7} I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.^(AO) Then you will know^(AP) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land^(AQ) I swore^(AR) with uplifted hand^(AS) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.^(AT) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”^(AU)

⁹ Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.^(AV)

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go, tell^(AW) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”^(AX)

¹² But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen^(AY) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips^[c]?”^(AZ)

Family Record of Moses and Aaron

¹³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.^(BA)

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled,^(A) Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds^(B) about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” ⁶ So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. ⁷ He took six hundred of the best chariots,^(C) along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart^(D) of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.^{(E) 9} The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses^(F) and chariots, horsemen^[a] and troops^(G)—pursued the Israelites and overtook^(H) them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.^(I)

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried^(J) out to the Lord. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?^(K) What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”^(L)

¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid.^(M) Stand firm and you will see^(N) the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see^(O) again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight^(P) for you; you need only to be still.”^(Q)

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?^(R) Tell the Israelites to move on. ¹⁶ Raise your staff^(S) and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water^(T) so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ I will harden the hearts^(U) of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them.^(V) And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord^(W) when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ Then the angel of God,^(X) who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud^(Y) also moved from in front and stood behind^(Z) them, ²⁰ coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness^(AA) to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand^(AB) over the sea,^(AC) and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind^(AD) and turned it into dry land.^(AE) The waters were divided,^{(AF) 22} and the Israelites went through the sea^(AG) on dry ground,^(AH) with a wall^(AI) of water on their right and on their left.

²³ The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen^(AJ) followed them into the sea. ²⁴ During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud^(AK) at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.^{(AL) 25} He jammed^[b] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting^(AM) for them against Egypt.”^(AN)

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place.^(AO) The Egyptians were fleeing toward^[c] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.^{(AP) 28} The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea.^(AQ) Not one of them survived.^(AR)

²⁹ But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground,^(AS) with a wall^(AT) of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ That day the Lord saved^(AU) Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹ And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand^(AV) of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared^(AW) the Lord and put their trust^(AX) in him and in Moses his servant.