Exodus 出埃及记05

5Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the Lord¹ , the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.' "
2Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord , that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go."
3Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues² or with the sword."
4But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor³? Get back to your work!"
5Then Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous⁴, and you are stopping them from working."
6That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and foremen in charge of the people:
7"You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks⁵; let them go and gather their own straw.
8But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don't reduce the quota⁶. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'
9Make the work harder for the men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."
10Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw.
11Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.' "
12So the people scattered⁷ all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.
13The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw."
14The Israelite foremen appointed by Pharaoh's slave drivers were beaten and were asked, "Why didn't you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?"
15Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way?
16Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, 'Make bricks!' Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people."
17Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are-lazy! That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord .'
18Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks."
19The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day."
20When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them,
21and they said, "May the Lord look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me?
23Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."

1 lord   

n.上帝，主；主人，长官；君主，贵族

参考例句：

• I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
• How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊，竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾！

2 plagues   

瘟疫( plague的名词复数 )； 灾害，折磨

参考例句：

• Plagues aside, many critics see xenotransplantation as a colossal waste of resources. 除了疫病外，许多批评家把异种移植看作是资源的巨大浪费。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• Plagues were for merly regarded as a visitation of God. 瘟疫从前被认为是上帝的惩罚。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 numerous   

adj.为数众多的；极多的

参考例句：

• There have been numerous exchanges of views between the two governments.两国政府间曾多次交换意见。
• There are numerous people in the square. 有许多人在广场上。

5 bricks   

n.砖( brick的名词复数 )；砖块；积木；可靠的朋友

参考例句：

• He compounded water, sand and soil and formed bricks. 他用水拌和沙和泥土做成砖块。
• The United Auto Workers hit the bricks against General Motors. 联合汽车工人工会举行罢工，反对通用汽车公司。

6 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

7 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。