Exodus 5:4-9

King James Version

⁴And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

⁵And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

⁶And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

⁷Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

⁸And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

⁹Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

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Exodus 5:4-9

New International Version

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

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

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Exodus 5:4-9

New King James Version

⁴Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your ^(A)labor.” ⁵And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are ^(B)many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”

⁶So the same day Pharaoh commanded the ^(C)taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, ⁷“You shall no longer give the people straw to make ^(D)brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”