Exodus 5:4

Exodus 5:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.
• New International Version (NIV)But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!”
• English Standard Version (ESV)But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.”

Context of Exodus 5:4

2But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” 3They answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword.” The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor!” 5Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labor.” 6That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers of the people as well as their foremen,

Exodus 5:4 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם לָ֚מָּה מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְאַהֲרֹ֔ן תַּפְרִ֥יעוּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִמַּֽעֲשָׂ֑יו לְכ֖וּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, Wherefore do ye, Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• and Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• letפָּרַעpâra‛ · to neglectH6544
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• from their worksמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• getיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• you unto your burdensסִבְלָהsebâlâh · burdenH5450

Cross-references for Exodus 5:4

• Jeremiah 38:4The officials then said to the king, “This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not pursuing the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
• Amos 7:10Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words,
• Luke 23:2They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.”
• Acts 16:20Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews
• Acts 24:5For we have found this man to be a plague, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the Roman world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
• Exodus 1:11So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh.

Commentaries on Exodus 5:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron - He hints that the Hebrews are in a state of revolt, and charges Moses and Aaron as being ringleaders of the sedition. This unprincipled charge has been, in nearly similar circumstances, often repeated since. Men who have labored to bring the mass of the common people from ignorance, irreligion, and general profligacy of manners, to an acquaintance with themselves and God, and to a proper knowledge of their duty to him…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Let - i. e. hinder.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5It seems that the people expected the freedom God had promised. Because of this, they stopped their work.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? &c.--Without taking any notice of what they had said, he treated them as ambitious demagogues, who were appealing to the superstitious feelings of the people, to stir up sedition and diffuse a spirit of discontent, which spreading through so vast a body of slaves, might endanger the peace of the country.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Aaron
• Egypt
• Moses
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Cover
• Demand
• Tale
• Task
• Burden

Commentaries on Exodus 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings