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 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.”

Context of Exodus 5:4

2“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” 3But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.” Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! 5Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.” 6That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen:

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 38:4So these officials went to the king and said, “Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!”
• Amos 7:10Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable.
• Luke 23:2They began to state their case: “This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king.”
• Acts 16:20“The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials.
• Acts 24:5We have found this man to be a troublemaker who is constantly stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes.
• Exodus 1:11So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.

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