Exodus 1:14 kjv
And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor.
Exodus 1:14 nkjv
And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage? in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
Exodus 1:14 niv
They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
Exodus 1:14 esv
and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
Exodus 1:14 nlt
They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.
Exodus 1 14 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 15:13 | Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs...and they will afflict them..." | Foretelling affliction for God's people. |
| Gen 15:14 | "And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions." | God's promise of judgment on oppressors. |
| Ex 2:23 | Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out... | The effect of the severe labor led to cries. |
| Ex 2:24 | So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. | God's remembrance of His covenant. |
| Ex 3:7 | And the Lord said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows." | God sees and knows His people's suffering. |
| Ex 5:9 | "Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard lying words." | Pharaoh intensifies labor to crush hope. |
| Ex 6:5 | And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. | God responds to the groans from bondage. |
| Ex 6:6 | Therefore say to the children of Israel: 'I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians...' | God promises deliverance from the burdens. |
| Ex 20:2 | "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." | God's self-identification as Deliverer. |
| Dt 26:6 | So the Egyptians ill-treated us and afflicted us, and laid hard labor on us. | A later Deuteronomic summary of the affliction. |
| Neh 9:9 | "You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea." | Recalling God's attentive gaze on suffering. |
| Ps 105:25 | He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal craftily with His servants. | Divine orchestration allowing for affliction. |
| Acts 7:19 | This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live. | Stephen's summary of the Egyptian oppression. |
| Lam 3:19 | Remember my affliction and my bitterness, The wormwood and the gall. | Language of 'bitterness' (marar) of suffering. |
| Ruth 1:20 | But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." | 'Bitter' as a description of deep sorrow. |
| Ps 88:15 | From my youth I have been afflicted and ready to die; I suffer Your terrors, I am distraught. | Expressions of profound suffering. |
| 2 Tim 2:3 | You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. | Analogous concept of hard labor/endurance for a cause. |
| Rom 6:17 | But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. | Spiritual slavery to sin as a metaphor. |
| Tit 3:3 | For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. | Spiritual service to unrighteousness. |
| Gal 5:1 | Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. | Freedom from a different kind of bondage. |
| Col 1:13 | He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. | Deliverance from spiritual darkness. |
| Heb 11:27 | By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. | Faith enduring oppressive power. |
Exodus 1 verses
Exodus 1 14 Meaning
The verse profoundly describes the severe and dehumanizing forced labor imposed on the Israelites by the Egyptians, leading to immense suffering. Their lives were made bitter through relentless, physically demanding tasks, especially in building with mortar and bricks, and through all forms of field labor, all executed with extreme cruelty and strictness by their overseers.
Exodus 1 14 Context
Exodus chapter 1 describes the miraculous growth of Jacob's descendants in Egypt after Joseph's time. A new pharaoh ascends to power who "did not know Joseph," meaning he disregarded the historical alliance and Joseph's contributions. Perceiving the prolific Israelites as a demographic and military threat, this pharaoh devised strategies to suppress them. Initially, he subjected them to harsh labor, compelling them to build store cities like Pithom and Raamses (Ex 1:11). Verse 14 specifically details the brutal nature and widespread application of this forced labor, painting a vivid picture of the suffering inflicted. This context establishes the dire circumstances from which God is about to deliver His people, highlighting the necessity and grandeur of the subsequent Exodus. Historically, forced labor (corvée) was common in ancient Egypt for monumental building projects, fitting the oppressive tactics of the pharaoh against the rapidly increasing Israelite population.
Exodus 1 14 Word analysis
And they made their lives bitter:
- The Hebrew verb is vaymareru (וַיְמָרְרוּ), from the root marar (מָרַר), meaning "to be bitter," "to embitter," or "to make miserable."
- This is not merely physical discomfort but an active, deliberate process of making life grievous and sorrowful, impacting the emotional and spiritual well-being of the Israelites. It describes profound psychological and spiritual anguish, crushing their hope and spirit.
with hard bondage:
- "Hard" translates from qashah (קָשָׁה), meaning "hard," "severe," "difficult," or "cruel." It describes the intense physical demands and merciless nature of the tasks.
- "Bondage" comes from avodah (עֲבֹדָה), which means "work," "service," or "labor." It is significant as the same root often denotes "worship" or "service to God." Here, their natural inclination for work or true worship is perverted into harsh, involuntary servitude to an oppressive human king, diametrically opposed to serving the true God.
in morter, and in brick:
- "Morter" is khomer (חֹמֶר), referring to clay, loam, or a sticky material used in building.
- "Brick" is levenim (לְבֵנִים), which are clay bricks, common building materials in Egypt.
- These specific materials highlight the type of physically intensive construction work. It implies heavy lifting, mixing materials, and repetitive, back-breaking tasks essential for massive building projects like store-cities mentioned in verse 11.
and in all manner of service in the field:
- This phrase uses the broad kol avodah (כָּל־עֲבֹדָה), "all service," implying a wide range of tasks beyond bricklaying, such as agricultural labor, digging canals, quarrying stone, or other forced outdoor labor.
- This signifies that no aspect of their lives was free from compulsory, burdensome work. Their subjugation was comprehensive, leaving no domain untouched by oppression.
all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour:
- This phrase emphasizes the relentless nature of the oppression.
- "Rigour" translates perekh (פֶּרֶךְ), which denotes cruel harshness, breaking severity, and ruthlessness. It speaks to work enforced with brutality, oppression designed to wear down and crush the spirit of the laborer. It's not just "hard work" but work enforced with unyielding severity, devoid of mercy or consideration for human limits, pushing them to exhaustion and beyond.
Exodus 1 14 Bonus section
The concept of "service" (avodah) is crucial in this verse. In many biblical contexts, avodah refers to sacred worship or priestly service unto God (e.g., Num 3:7, 8:11, Josh 22:27). By applying this term to the Egyptians' cruel exploitation of Israel, the narrative contrasts Pharaoh's perverted and burdensome "service" with the liberating and joyful "service" God desired from His people. This contrast foreshadows the ultimate spiritual deliverance through Christ, freeing believers from bondage to sin and empowering them for true, joyful service to God. The severity (perekh) described here establishes the profound necessity for divine intervention, as no human power could alleviate such comprehensive and intentional oppression. It underscores God's compassion and power to deliver His people from what appears to be an inescapable, dehumanizing force.
Exodus 1 14 Commentary
Exodus 1:14 offers a poignant summary of the comprehensive suffering endured by the Israelites in Egypt. It portrays the Pharaoh's calculated cruelty: not only did he enforce physical labor for economic gain and national security, but he engineered a system designed to "make their lives bitter," intending to crush their spirit and hope. The inclusion of "mortar and brick" pinpoints the specific, demanding construction tasks, while "all manner of service in the field" shows the breadth of their forced servitude, illustrating how their entire existence became one of grueling labor. The culminating phrase, "all their service... was with rigour," highlights the ruthless, uncompromising brutality of their overseers, devoid of any leniency or humanity. This relentless and dehumanizing oppression created an intolerable situation, serving as the necessary prelude for their desperate cries to God (Ex 2:23) and the magnificent display of divine redemption that follows in the Exodus narrative. This bitter experience contrasted sharply with God's intended "service" of worship, showing how worldly powers twisted righteous work into soul-crushing bondage.