New Living Translation
Exodus 1:14
14They 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.
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 the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. 13So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. 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. 15Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: 16“When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her 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 2:23Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.
- Exodus 6:9So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.
- Genesis 15:13Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
- Numbers 20:15Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived there a long time, and we and our ancestors were brutally mistreated by the Egyptians.
- Deuteronomy 4:20Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.
- Deuteronomy 26:6When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves,
- Ruth 1:20“Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.
- Acts 7:19This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die.
- Psalms 68:13Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures— doves with wings of silver and feathers of gold.
- Psalms 81:6“Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.
- Nahum 3:14Get ready for the siege! Store up water! Strengthen the defenses! Go into the pits to trample clay, and pack it into molds, making bricks to repair the walls.
- Exodus 1:13So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.
- Exodus 5:7“Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves!
- Exodus 20:2“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
- Leviticus 25:43Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly.
- Isaiah 14:6You struck the people with endless blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip with unrelenting tyranny.
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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