But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.
Parallel translations
- WEB The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.
- KJV And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
- BSB But the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, putting us to hard labor.
- NASB And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us.
- NLT When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The recital continues: the Egyptians oppressed and enslaved Israel with harsh labor. Remembering bondage magnifies the deliverance that followed.
Overview
The worshiper recalls the affliction of slavery, setting the dark backdrop against which God's redemption shines. Acknowledging past suffering and bondage deepens gratitude for rescue. This mirrors the gospel pattern, where recognizing our slavery to sin makes the liberty Christ purchased all the more precious (Romans 6:17-18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Exod 1:11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses.
- Exod 1:14and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve.
- Deut 4:20But Yahweh has taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as it is today.
- Exod 1:16and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool; if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
- Exod 5:9Let heavier work be laid on the men, that they may labor therein; and don’t let them pay any attention to lying words.”
- Exod 1:22Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
- Exod 5:23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people; and you have not rescued your people at all.”
- Exod 5:19The officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble, when it was said, “You shall not diminish anything from your daily quota of bricks!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 26:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.