New English Translation
Exodus 1:14
14They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous.
Exodus 1:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
- New International Version (NIV)They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
Context of Exodus 1:14
12But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread. As a result the Egyptians loathed the Israelites, 13and they made the Israelites serve rigorously. They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous. 15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16“When you assist the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery: If it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she may live.”
Read all of Exodus 1Exodus 1:14 word by word
וַיְמָרְר֨וּ אֶת־חַיֵּיהֶ֜ם בַּעֲבֹדָ֣ה קָשָׁ֗ה בְּחֹ֙מֶר֙ וּבִלְבֵנִ֔ים וּבְכָל־עֲבֹדָ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה אֵ֚ת כָּל־עֲבֹ֣דָתָ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־עָבְד֥וּ בָהֶ֖ם בְּפָֽרֶךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they madeמָרַרmârar · to provokeH4843
- their livesחַיִּיםchay · lifeH2416
- with hardקָשֶׁהqâsheh · severeH7186
- bondageעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · serviceH5656
- in morterחֹ֫מֶרchômer · clayH2563
- and in brickלְבֵנָהlebênâh · brickH3843
- and in all manner of serviceעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · service: workH5656
- in the fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
- wherein they made them serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
- with rigourפֶּ֫רֶךְperek · severityH6531
Cross-references for Exodus 1:14
- Exodus 2:23During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to God.
- Exodus 6:9Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and hard labor.
- Genesis 15:13Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
- Numbers 20:15how our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly.
- Deuteronomy 4:20You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, to be his special people as you are today.
- Deuteronomy 26:6But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, forcing us to do burdensome labor.
- Ruth 1:20But she replied to them, “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’! Call me ‘Mara’ because the Sovereign One has treated me very harshly.
- Acts 7:19This was the one who exploited our people and was cruel to our ancestors, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.
- Psalms 68:13When you lie down among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove are covered with silver and with glittering gold.
- Psalms 81:6It said: “I removed the burden from his shoulder; his hands were released from holding the basket.
- Nahum 3:14Draw yourselves water for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Trample the mud and tread the clay! Make mud bricks to strengthen your walls!
- Exodus 1:13and they made the Israelites serve rigorously.
- Exodus 5:7“You must no longer give straw to the people for making bricks as before. Let them go and collect straw for themselves.
- Exodus 20:2“I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
- Leviticus 25:43You must not rule over him harshly, but you must fear your God.
- Isaiah 14:6It furiously struck down nations with unceasing blows. It angrily ruled over nations, oppressing them without restraint.
Commentaries on Exodus 1:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14They made their lives bitter - So that they became weary of life, through the severity of their servitude. With hard bondage - קשה בעבדה baabodah kashah, with grievous servitude. This was the general character of their life in Egypt; it was a life of the most painful servitude, oppressive enough in itself, but made much more so by the cruel manner of their treatment while performing their tasks. In mortar, and in brick - First, in digging the clay…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14The use of brick, at all times common in Egypt, was especially so under the 18th Dynasty. An exact representation of the whole process of brickmaking is given in a small temple at Thebes, erected by Tothmosis III, the fourth in descent from Amosis. Immense masses of brick are found at Belbeis, the modern capital of Sharkiya, i. e. Goshen, and in the adjoining district. All manner of service in the field - Not merely agricultural labor, but probably the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-14Verses 8-14 The land of Egypt became to Israel a house of bondage. The place where we have been happy, may soon become the place of our affliction; and that may prove the greatest cross to us, of which we said, This same shall comfort us. Cease from man, and say not of any place on this side heaven, This is my rest. All that knew Joseph, loved him, and were kind to his brethren for his sake; but the best and most useful services a man does to others, are…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14The Egyptians could only get stone for building from the far south of the country. In the north, where the Hebrews lived, they used stone only for the most important state and religious buildings. They built other structures with mortar and bricks made from durable clay. They mixed in seashells or straw to bind it together. After sun-drying in a mold, these materials were surprisingly strong. This was especially true in Egypt, where there was little rain…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1413-14. The Egyptians ... made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick--Ruins of great brick buildings are found in all parts of Egypt. The use of crude brick, baked in the sun, was universal in upper and lower Egypt, both for public and private buildings; all but the temples themselves were of crude brick. It is worthy of remark that more bricks bearing the name of Thothmes III, who is supposed to have been the king of Egypt at the…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 1:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 1
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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