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 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

2And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.” 3So they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 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.” 5And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!” 6So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,

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 38:4Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
• Amos 7:10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.
• Luke 23:2And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”
• Acts 16:20And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;
• Acts 24:5For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
• Exodus 1:11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply 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
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Cover
• Demand
• Tale
• Task
• Burden
• Exodus, the Book of

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