Exodus 1:14

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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.

Context of Exodus 1:14

12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13and worked them ruthlessly. 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. 15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16“When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”

Exodus 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, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
• Exodus 6:9Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.
• Genesis 15:13Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
• Numbers 20:15Our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors,
• Deuteronomy 4:20But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.
• Deuteronomy 26:6But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor.
• Ruth 1:20“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.
• Acts 7:19He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
• Psalms 68:13Even while you sleep among the sheep pens, the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver, its feathers with shining gold.”
• Psalms 81:6“I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.
• Nahum 3:14Draw water for the siege, strengthen your defenses! Work the clay, tread the mortar, repair the brickwork!
• Exodus 1:13and worked them ruthlessly.
• Exodus 5:7“You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw.
• Exodus 20:2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
• Leviticus 25:43Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.
• Isaiah 14:6which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression.

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

• Bondage
• Brick
• House
• Israel
• Mortar
• Oppression
• Servant
• Usurpation

In the dictionaries

• Arise
• Bitter
• Bricks
• Exodus
• Hard
• Mason
• Mortar
• Moses
• Pharaoh
• Wisely

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