Exodus 5:10

Verse

So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am no longer giving you straw.

American Standard Version (1901)

And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

Bible in Basic English

And the overseers of the people and their responsible men went out and said to the people, Pharaoh says, I will give you no more dry stems.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And the overseers of the works and the taskmasters went out and said to the people: Thus saith Pharao, I allow you no straw:

Free Bible Version

So the slave drivers and those in charge went out and told the people, “This is what Pharaoh has ordered: ‘I won't give you any more straw.

Geneva Bible 1599

Then went the taskemasters of the people and their officers out, and tolde the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will giue you no more strawe.

King James (Authorized) Version

¶ And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

One Unity Resource Bible

The taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you straw.

Translation for Translators

So the slave bosses and supervisors of the slaves went to where the Israeli people were and said to them, “The king has said that he will no longer give you any straw.

Unlocked Literal Bible

So the people's taskmasters and foremen went out and informed the people. They said, “This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will no longer give you any straw.

Noah Webster Bible

And the task-masters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

World English Bible

The taskmasters of the people went out with their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you straw.

Young's Literal Translation

And the exactors of the people, and its authorities, go out, and speak unto the people, saying, 'Thus said Pharaoh, I do not give you straw,

Context

Bricks and Straw

⁹Make the work harder on the men so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies.”¹⁰So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am no longer giving you straw.¹¹Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it; but your workload will in no way be reduced.’”

Summary

In this verse, Pharaoh accuses the Israelites of being lazy for requesting time off to go and worship their God. Pharaoh's harsh response reveals his oppressive nature and disregard for the Israelites' religious practices. This interaction sets the stage for the escalating conflict between Pharaoh and Moses, illustrating the struggle between God's people and worldly powers. It also foreshadows the eventual deliverance of the Israelites from slavery through God's mighty acts and judgments.

Commentary

John Gill
Matthew Henry

John Gill Bible Commentary

And the taskmasters of the people went out,.... From the presence of Pharaoh, out of his court, to the respective places where they were set to see that the Israelites did their work: and their officers; the officers of the Israelites, who were under the taskmasters, and answerable to them for the work of the people, and their tale of bricks: and they spake to the people, saying, thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw; that is, any longer, as he had used to do.

Matthew Henry Bible Commentary

Pharaoh's orders are here put in execution; straw is denied, and yet the work not diminished. 1. The Egyptian task-masters were very severe. Pharaoh having decreed unrighteous decrees, the task-masters were ready to write the grievousness that he had prescribed, Isa 10:1. Cruel princes will never want cruel instruments to be employed under them, who will justify them in that which is most unreasonable. These task-masters insisted upon the daily tasks, as when there was straw, Exo 5:13. See what need we have to pray that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, Th2 3:2. The enmity of the serpent's seed against the seed of the woman is such as breaks through all the laws of reason, honour, humanity, and common justice. 2. The people hereby were dispersed throughout all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble, Exo 5:12. By this means Pharaoh's unjust and barbarous usage of them came to be known to all the kingdom, and perhaps caused them to be pitied by their neighbours, and made Pharaoh's government less acceptable even to his own subjects: good-will is never got by persecution. 3. The Israelite-officers were used with particular harshness, Exo 5:14. Those that were the fathers of the houses of Israel paid dearly for their honour; for from them immediately the service was exacted, and they were beaten when it was not performed. See here, (1.) What a miserable thing slavery is, and what reason we have to be thankful to God that we are a free people, and not oppressed. Liberty and property are valuable jewels in the eyes of those whose services and possessions lie at the mercy of an arbitrary power. (2.) What disappointments we often meet with after the raising of our expectations. The Israelites were now lately encouraged to hope for enlargement, but behold greater distresses. This teaches us always to rejoice with trembling. (3.) What strange steps God sometimes takes in delivering his people; he often brings them to the utmost straits when he is just ready to appear for them. The lowest ebbs go before the highest tides; and very cloudy mornings commonly introduce the fairest days, Deu 32:36. God's time to help is when things are at the worst; and Providence verifies the paradox, The worse the better.