Bible Strands
Exodus 5:16
No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Israelite foremen address Pharaoh immediately following their initial appeal in Exodus 5:15, reporting the escalation of their forced labor conditions.
The words — The Hebrew terms אֵין ('ein) and נִתָּן (ni.Tan) literally state "not given," emphasizing the complete absence of supplied straw. The verb עֲשׂוּ ('asu) commands the workers to "make" bricks, directing the labor demand at the servants rather than the materials themselves.
The thread — The supplied context links this complaint directly to Exodus 5:15, where the foremen first appeal to Pharaoh, and Exodus 5:17, where Pharaoh dismisses them as slackers.
Why it lands — The verse documents a systemic injustice where labor is demanded without resources and punishment is applied for the shortage. It requires the reader to recognize how oppressive systems shift blame onto the very people they exploit.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.