Exodus 5:4
in Exodus 5But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, loose the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.
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.
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This verse in Exodus 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
get you unto your burdens
on Exodus 5:4-5
Pharaoh answers a request about worship with a sentence about work, and his word for it is burdens, the same word that carried the oppression at 1:11 and the scene Moses walked into at 2:11. His reason in verse 5 repeats the fear that started the bondage, that the people of the land now are many, which is what the new king said at 1:9. The reply deals with labour and numbers alone.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureDisputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
What else is this than what was signified by the taskmasters of Pharaoh, of whom it is said in Exodus 1, that they hated the children of Israel and brought them to bitterness, afflicting them with hard labors of clay and brick, and with every …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
13 And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. 14 And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And the king of Egypt said to them,....
His suggestions were very unreasonable. (1.) That the people were idle, and that therefore they talked of going to sacrifice. The cities they built for Pharaoh, and the other fruit of their labours, were witnesses for them that they were not idle; yet he thus basely misrepresents them, that he might have a pretence to increase their burdens.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wherefore 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 and to each other, have been often branded as being disaffected to the state, and as movers of sedition among the people!
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶם֙ | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לָ֚מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֣ה | mosheh | O Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וְאַהֲרֹ֔ן | veaharon | and Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| תַּפְרִ֥יעוּ | tafriu | are you causing to refrain | H6544 → | 16 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מִמַּֽעֲשָׂ֑יו | mimaasav | from work<s> its | H4639 → | 236 times |
| לְכ֖וּ | lekhu | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶֽם׃ | lesivloteikhem | to forced labor your | H5450 → | 6 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶם֙to them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לָ֚מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
מֹשֶׁ֣הO Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וְאַהֲרֹ֔ןand Aaron
veaharonH175 →347 times
תַּפְרִ֥יעוּare you causing to refrain
tafriuH6544 →16 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
מִמַּֽעֲשָׂ֑יוfrom work<s> its
mimaasavH4639 →236 times
לְכ֖וּgo
lekhuH1980 →1546 times
לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶֽם׃to forced labor your
lesivloteikhemH5450 →6 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 7:10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words,
it leads to
- Jeremiah 38:4
Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 38:4
Through
Exodus 1:11So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:13
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Exodus 3:7
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- Exodus 2:11
One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
- Genesis 15:13
Through
Luke 23:2And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”
it leads to
- Acts 24:5
We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 17:6–7
But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,
- Acts 24:5
Through
Acts 24:5We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
it leads to
- Acts 28:22
But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”
- Acts 24:14
I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is laid down by the Law and…
- Acts 28:22
About Exodus

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonExodus and Wilderness PeriodMosesIsrael's deliverer from Egyptian slavery, covenant mediator, and lawgiver.
- PersonExodus eraAaronBrother of Moses and Israel's first high priest; his rod budded, his garments were for glory and beauty, and his line carried the…
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
