Exodus 5:6

5:6 That same day Pharaoh commanded ¹  the slave masters and foremen ²  who were ³  over the people: ⁴ 

Exodus 19:21

19:21 The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and solemnly warn ⁵  the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish. ⁶ 

[5:6]  ¹ tn Heb “and Pharaoh commanded on that day.”

[5:6]  ² tn The Greek has “scribes” for this word, perhaps thinking of those lesser officials as keeping records of the slaves and the bricks.

[5:6]  ³ tn The phrase “who were” is supplied for clarity.

[5:6]  ⁴ sn In vv. 6-14 the second section of the chapter describes the severe measures by the king to increase the labor by decreasing the material. The emphasis in this section must be on the harsh treatment of the people and Pharaoh’s reason for it – he accuses them of idleness because they want to go and worship. The real reason, of course, is that he wants to discredit Moses (v. 9) and keep the people as slaves.

[19:21]  ⁵ tn The imperative הָעֵד (ha’ed) means “charge” them – put them under oath, or solemnly warn them. God wished to ensure that the people would not force their way past the barriers that had been set out.

[19:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “and fall”; NAB “be struck down.”