Exodus Chapter 5 verse 17 Holy Bible
But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah.
read chapter 5 in ASV
But he said, You have no love for work: that is why you say, Let us go and make an offering to the Lord.
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And he said, Ye are idle, idle! therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah.
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But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.
read chapter 5 in KJV
But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go, and do sacrifice to the LORD.
read chapter 5 in WBT
But he said, "You are idle! You are idle! Therefore you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to Yahweh.'
read chapter 5 in WEB
And he saith, `Remiss -- ye are remiss, therefore ye are saying, Let us go, let us sacrifice to Jehovah;
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 17. - Ye are idle, etc. Compare ver. 8. Pharaoh is evidently pleased with his "happy thought." It seems to him clever, witty, humorous, to tax overworked people with idleness; and equally clever to say to religious people - "Your religion is a mere pretence. You do not want to worship. You want a holiday." We may remark further that idleness and hypocrisy were two sins of the deepest dye, according to Egyptian notions.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(17) Ye are idle.--Idleness was regarded by the Egyptians as one of the worst sins. It had to be specially disclaimed in the final judgment before Osiris (Birch, in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v. p. 254). Men sometimes disclaimed it in the epitaphs which they placed upon their tombs (Records of the Past, vol. vi. p. 137). Pharaoh had already made the charge, by implication, against Moses and Aaron (Exodus 5:4). No doubt, among the Egyptians themselves, a good deal of idleness resulted from the frequent attendance upon religious festivals (Herod. ii. 59-64). Hence the charge might seem plausible.
