5 (vii) After that, Moshe and Aharon came and said to Pharaoh, “Here is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they can celebrate a festival in the desert to honor me.’” ² But Pharaoh replied, “Who is Adonai, that I should obey when he says to let Isra’el go? I don’t know Adonai, and I also won’t let Isra’el go.” ³ They said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days’ journey into the desert, so that we can sacrifice to Adonai our God. Otherwise, he may strike us with a plague or with the sword.” ⁴ The king of Egypt answered them, “Moshe and Aharon, what do you mean by taking the people away from their work? Get back to your labor! ⁵ Look!” Pharaoh added, “the population of the land has grown, yet you are trying to have them stop working!”

⁶ That same day Pharaoh ordered the slavemasters and the people’s foremen, ⁷ “You are no longer to provide straw for the bricks the people are making, as you did before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But you will require them to produce the same quantity of bricks as before, don’t reduce it, because they’re lazing around. This is why they’re crying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Give these people harder work to do. That will keep them too busy to pay attention to speeches full of lies.”

¹⁰ The people’s slavemasters went out, their foremen too, and said to the people, “Here is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will no longer give you straw. ¹¹ You go, yourselves, and get straw wherever you can find it. But your output is not to be reduced.’” ¹² So the people were dispersed throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The slavemasters kept pressing them. “Keep working! Make your daily quota, just as when straw was provided.” ¹⁴ The foremen of the people of Isra’el, whom Pharaoh’s slavemasters had appointed to be over them, were flogged and asked, “Why haven’t you fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday and today, as you did formerly?”

¹⁵ Then the foremen of the people of Isra’el came and complained to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way? ¹⁶ No straw is given to your servants, yet they keep telling us to make bricks. And now your servants are being flogged, but the fault lies with your own people.” ¹⁷ “Lazy!” he retorted, “You’re just lazy! That’s why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to Adonai.’ ¹⁸ Get going now, and get back to work! No straw will be given to you, and you will still deliver the full amount of bricks.” ¹⁹ When they said, “You are not to reduce your daily production quota of bricks,” the foremen of the people of Isra’el could see that they were in deep trouble.

²⁰ As they were leaving Pharaoh, they encountered Moshe and Aharon standing by the road; ²¹ and they said to them, “May Adonai look at you and judge accordingly, because you have made us utterly abhorrent in the view of Pharaoh and his servants, and you have put a sword in their hands to kill us!” (Maftir) ²² Moshe returned to Adonai and said, “Adonai, why have you treated this people so terribly? What has been the value of sending me? ²³ For ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has dealt terribly with this people! And you haven’t rescued your people at all!”

6 Adonai said to Moshe, “Now you will see what I am going to do to Pharaoh. With a mighty hand he will send them off; with force he will drive them from the land!”

Haftarah Sh’mot: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 27:6–28:13; 29:22–23 (A); Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 1:1–2:3 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Sh’mot: Mattityahu (Matthew) 22:23–33; 41–46; Mark 12:18–27; 35–37; Luke 20:27–44; Acts 3:12–15; 5:27–32; 7:17–36; 22:12–16; 24:14–16; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 11:23–26

Parashah 14: Va’era (I appeared) 6:2–9:35

² God spoke to Moshe; he said to him, “I am Adonai. ³ I appeared to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself known to them by my name, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai]. ⁴ Also with them I established my covenant to give them the land of Kena‘an, the land where they wandered about and lived as foreigners. ⁵ Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Isra’el, whom the Egyptians are keeping in slavery; and I have remembered my covenant.

⁶ “Therefore, say to the people of Isra’el: ‘I am Adonai. I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians, rescue you from their oppression, and redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷ I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am Adonai your God, who freed you from the forced labor of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov — I will give it to you as your inheritance. I am Adonai.’”

⁹ Moshe said this to the people of Isra’el. But they wouldn’t listen to him, because they were so discouraged, and their slavery was so cruel.

¹⁰ Adonai said to Moshe, ¹¹ “Go in; and tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Isra’el leave his land.” ¹² Moshe said to Adonai, “Look, the people of Isra’el haven’t listened to me; so how will Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?” ¹³ But Adonai spoke to Moshe and Aharon and gave them orders concerning both the people of Isra’el and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt.

(ii) ¹⁴ These were the heads of their families: the sons of Re’uven the firstborn of Isra’el were Hanokh, Pallu, Hetzron and Karmi. These were the families of Re’uven.

¹⁵ The sons of Shim‘on were Y’mu’el, Yamin, Ohad, Yakhin, Tzochar and Sha’ul the son of a Kena‘ani woman. These were the families of Shim‘on.

¹⁶ These are the names of the sons of Levi with their descendants: Gershon, K’hat and M’rari. Levi lived to be 137 years old. ¹⁷ The sons of Gershon were Livni and Shim‘i, with their families. ¹⁸ The sons of K’hat were ‘Amram, Yitz’har, Hevron and ‘Uzi’el. K’hat lived to be 133 years old. ¹⁹ The sons of M’rari were Machli and Mushi. These were the families of Levi with their descendants.

²⁰ ‘Amram married Yokheved his father’s sister, and she bore him Aharon and Moshe. ‘Amram lived to be 137 years old. ²¹ The sons of Yitz’har were Korach, Nefeg and Zikhri. ²² The sons of ‘Uzi’el were Misha’el, Eltzafan and Sitri. ²³ Aharon married Elisheva daughter of ‘Amminadav and sister of Nachshon, and she bore him Nadav, Avihu, El‘azar and Itamar. ²⁴ The sons of Korach were Asir, Elkanah and Avi’asaf. These were the Korchi families. ²⁵ El‘azar the son of Aharon married one of the daughters of Puti’el, and she bore him Pinchas. These were the heads of the families of Levi, family by family.

²⁶ These are the Aharon and Moshe to whom Adonai said, “Bring the people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt, division by division,” ²⁷ and who told Pharaoh king of Egypt, to let the people of Isra’el leave Egypt. These are the same Moshe and Aharon.

²⁸ On the day when Adonai spoke to Moshe in the land of Egypt, (iii) ²⁹ he said, “I am Adonai. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything I say to you.”

³⁰ Moshe answered Adonai, “Look, I’m such a poor speaker that Pharaoh won’t listen to me.”