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 said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” 3Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their work? Get back to your labors!” 5Again Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!” 6So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying,

Exodus 5:4 word by word

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

• But the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to them, “Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• and Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• do you letפָּרַעpâra‛ · to leadH6544
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• Getהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• laborsסִבְלָהsebâlâh · burdenH5450

Cross-references for Exodus 5:4

• Jeremiah 38:4Then the officials said to the king, “Please have this man put to death, since he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking words like these to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.”
• Amos 7:10Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words.
• Luke 23:2And they began to bring charges against Him, saying, “We found this Man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”
• Acts 16:20and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble,
• Acts 24:5For we have found this man a public menace and one who stirs up dissensions among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
• Exodus 1:11So they appointed taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.

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