14:5 When it was reported 1 to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, 2 the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and the king and his servants said, 3 “What in the world have we done? 4 For we have released the people of Israel 5 from serving us!”
1 tn Heb “and it was told.” The present translation uses “reported,” since this involves information given to a superior.
2 tn The verb must be given a past perfect translation because the fleeing occurred before the telling.
3 tn Heb “and they said.” The referent (the king and his servants) is supplied for clarity.
4 tn The question literally is “What is this we have done?” The demonstrative pronoun is used as an enclitic particle for emphasis (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
5 tn Heb “released Israel.” By metonymy the name of the nation is used collectively for the people who constitute it (the Israelites).