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Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
Exodus 5:7 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick, as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.
  • BSB “You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw.
  • NKJV “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.
  • NASB “You are no longer to give the people straw to make bricks as previously; have them go and gather straw for themselves.
  • NLT “Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves!

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

Pharaoh decrees that the people must now gather their own straw yet make the same bricks. He devises a crushing burden to break their spirit.

Overview

By withholding the straw needed for brickmaking, Pharaoh forces Israel to find their own while maintaining quotas, multiplying their labor. The measure is calculated cruelty meant to leave no time for thoughts of worship or freedom. It illustrates how the powers of this world respond to God's claim with harsher bondage, deepening the people's need for deliverance.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Judg 19:19Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.
  • Gen 24:25She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 5:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.

How Exodus 5:7 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.