Bricks Without Straw
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’ ”
2
Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.”
3
Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”
4
But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!”
5
Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”
6
That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people:
7
“You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw.