1After that, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness."
2Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go."
3They said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days' journey into the desert to sacrifice to the LORD our God. If we do not, he may strike us with disease or with the sword."
4The king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your loads."
5Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them stop carrying their loads."
6That same day Pharaoh gave orders to the slave drivers of the people and to their officers. He said,
7"You must not give the people straw to make bricks any more, as you did before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves."
8But you must still demand from them the same number of bricks they made before. Do not reduce it at all. They are lazy, and that is why they cry out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'
9"Let more work be laid on the men, so that they have to work at it. Then they will pay no attention to empty words."
10So the slave drivers of the people and their officers went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: I will not give you straw."
11"Go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it. But your work will not be reduced at all."
12So the people were scattered all through the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
13The slave drivers pressed them, saying, "Finish your work, your daily tasks, just as when there was straw."
14And the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's slave drivers had put over them, were beaten. They were asked, "Why have you not finished the number of bricks you were to make, either yesterday or today, as you did before?"
15Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh. They said, "Why do you treat your servants like this?"
16"No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, 'Make bricks.' Look, your servants are beaten, but the fault is with your own people."
17But he said, "You are lazy, you are lazy. That is why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'"
18"So go now and work. No straw will be given to you, and you must still hand over the same number of bricks."
19The officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble, when they were told, "You must not reduce the number of bricks in your daily task at all."
21They said to them, "May the LORD look at you and judge you. You have made us stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants. You have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22Moses turned back to the LORD and said, "Lord, why have you treated this people so badly? Why did you ever send me?"
23"Since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people. And you have not rescued your people at all."