Exodus 5 17

Exodus 5:17 kjv

But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.

Exodus 5:17 nkjv

But he said, "You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'

Exodus 5:17 niv

Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are?lazy! That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'

Exodus 5:17 esv

But he said, "You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'

Exodus 5:17 nlt

But Pharaoh shouted, "You're just lazy! Lazy! That's why you're saying, 'Let us go and offer sacrifices to the LORD.'

Exodus 5 verses

Exodus 5 17 meaning

Exodus 5:17 conveys Pharaoh's cynical dismissal of the Israelites' request to worship the Lord. He adamantly accuses Moses and Aaron, and by extension the entire Israelite people, of being lazy or slack in their work. From Pharaoh's perspective, their desire to travel into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Yahweh is merely an excuse to avoid their demanding labor duties. This accusation reveals his inability or refusal to recognize the divine command and the legitimacy of spiritual devotion, interpreting it purely through the lens of productivity and control.

Exodus 5 17 Context

Exodus 5 marks the beginning of the intense conflict between Yahweh and Pharaoh, represented by Moses and Aaron's direct confrontation. After God commanded Moses to demand freedom for His people to worship Him, Moses and Aaron bravely delivered this message to Pharaoh: "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'" (Ex 5:1). Pharaoh's immediate response (Ex 5:2) was defiance and a categorical refusal, asserting his ignorance of Yahweh and his absolute authority. Following this initial rejection, Pharaoh drastically escalated the oppression by increasing the Israelite's workload, requiring them to gather their own straw while maintaining the same brick quotas. Exodus 5:17 comes as Pharaoh's verbal justification for this increased hardship, openly articulating his accusation that the Israelites' desire for worship is nothing more than a pretext for idleness, thus necessitating their labor be increased to prevent such thoughts. Historically, Egyptian pharaohs viewed themselves as divine, demanding ultimate loyalty and absolute control over their labor force, especially those considered foreign vassals. Any request that removed manpower from state service, especially for the worship of an unknown deity, would be seen as sedition and a direct challenge to the pharaoh's supremacy and the stability of the Egyptian economy built on slave labor.

Exodus 5 17 Word analysis

• But he said: Signifies Pharaoh's definitive response and unyielding posture. His word is law in Egypt.
• "You are idle! You are idle!":
  • "idle" (רָפָה, raphah / raphim): This Hebrew root means to "sink down," "relax," "let drop," "become feeble," "slack," or "cease." Here, in the qal passive participle form (raphim), it refers to being lax, slack, or lazy. The word choice implies a lack of proper energy, attention, or diligence.
  • Repetition: The doubling of "You are idle! You are idle!" (raphim raphim) provides emphatic force, reflecting Pharaoh's extreme irritation, contempt, and certainty in his accusation. It underscores his anger and perhaps his deep-seated conviction that their plea is nothing but a thinly veiled excuse. Pharaoh cannot conceive that anyone would genuinely want to cease his work to worship God, rather than merely wanting to cease work.
• That is why you say,: This phrase links Pharaoh's perception of their "idleness" directly to their request for worship. He constructs a false causal relationship, portraying their spiritual desire as a mere symptom of their supposed laziness, thereby delegitimizing their appeal to Yahweh. He projects his own motivations (control, power, work) onto them.
• "Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.":
  • "Let us go": Implies freedom of movement, a release from the bonds of servitude, which is antithetical to Pharaoh's system of absolute control.
  • "offer sacrifices": A fundamental act of ancient worship, involving giving to and communion with a deity. This act required specific rituals, time, and removal from daily tasks, which from Pharaoh's perspective, constituted non-productive time.
  • "to the Lord (יְהוָה, Yahweh)": The specific name of Israel's God. While Pharaoh initially claims not to know Yahweh (Ex 5:2), he clearly identifies the deity being invoked here, still refusing to acknowledge His authority or rightful claim over the Israelites. The request to worship Yahweh implicitly challenges Pharaoh's claim to ultimate divinity and authority.
• Words-group by words-group analysis:
  • "But he said, 'You are idle! You are idle!'": Highlights the swift and condemning nature of Pharaoh's response, rooted in his view that any deviation from servitude is idleness. It sets a combative tone.
  • "That is why you say, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’": Exposes Pharaoh's manipulative logic. He cannot fathom a legitimate spiritual motivation and reduces it to a self-serving desire to escape work, contrasting divine purpose with worldly gain.

Exodus 5 17 Bonus section

• Pharaoh’s accusation of "idleness" is deeply ironic, given the brutally oppressive and unrelenting labor imposed upon the Israelites (Ex 1:11-14). Their lives were defined by toil, yet any thought of seeking God was immediately misconstrued as shirking work.
• The term raphah (idle) is also used in other biblical contexts to denote letting go, dropping something, or ceasing effort, sometimes even in a positive sense of relaxing one's grip or ceasing conflict (e.g., Ps 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God" or Neh 6:9 "Let their hands be slack"). Pharaoh, however, uses it entirely negatively, framing any relaxation from his work as an abandonment of duty.
• This verse sets up a thematic struggle that resonates throughout the Bible: the world's kingdom, focused on material production and human control, fundamentally opposes the spiritual kingdom, which prioritizes worship, obedience to God, and spiritual freedom. The world views spiritual devotion as unproductive and foolish.
• Pharaoh’s manipulative logic illustrates how those in power who oppose God often distort the motives of believers, turning righteous desires into something base and self-serving. This prefigures the opposition Christ's followers would face for their faith.

Exodus 5 17 Commentary

Exodus 5:17 is a pivotal verse, encapsulating the core theological and practical conflict between God and Pharaoh, and by extension, between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. Pharaoh's accusation of "idleness" is an incredibly cynical and blind misrepresentation of a genuine divine command to worship. For Pharaoh, whose entire kingdom relies on an enslaved workforce and whose authority is seen as ultimate, the Israelites' request to leave and worship Yahweh is not a spiritual matter but an economic and political threat. He interprets a sacred call to devotion as mere laziness and a scheme to shirk work, revealing his spiritual obtuseness and a hardened heart that prioritizes human labor and control above God's express will. This passage underscores a recurring pattern: when God's people seek to give time, energy, or resources to His worship and service, the world often counters with increased demands, accusations of impracticality, or attempts to burden them, aiming to prevent their spiritual freedom. Pharaoh’s doubled accusation (“You are idle! You are idle!”) vividly portrays his disdain and his total unwillingness to grasp a reality beyond his control, signifying his escalating opposition to the true God and His liberating purpose for Israel. This also warns against reducing worship to mere leisure or an escape from responsibilities, contrasting the world's false accusations against authentic, God-commanded worship.