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.
• 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.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work!

Context of Exodus 5:4

2Pharaoh 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.” 3Then 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.” But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” 5Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” 6That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people:

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 38:4Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”
• Amos 7:10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.
• Luke 23:2And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
• Acts 16:20They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar
• Acts 24:5“We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect
• Exodus 1:11So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store 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