Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)Isn’t this exactly what we toldyou in Egypt when we said, ‘Just leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? Because serving the Egyptians sounds a lot better to us than dying out here in the wilderness.”
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΟὐ τοῦτο ἦν τὸ ῥῆμα, ὃ ἐλαλήσαμεν πρὸς σὲ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, λέγοντες, πάρες ἡμᾶς, ὅπως δουλεύσωμεν τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις; κρεῖσσον γὰρ ἡμᾶς δουλεύειν τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις, ἢ ἀποθανεῖν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ταύτῃ. (Ou touto aʸn to ɽaʸma, ho elalaʸsamen pros se en Aiguptōi, legontes, pares haʸmas, hopōs douleusōmen tois Aiguptiois; kreisson gar haʸmas douleuein tois Aiguptiois, aʸ apothanein en taʸ eraʸmōi tautaʸ. )
BrTrIs not this the word which we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in this wilderness.
ULTIs this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Cease from us and let us serve the Egyptians’? Because serving the Egyptians is better to us than dying in the wilderness.”
USTThat is what we told you when we were in Egypt. We said, ‘Leave us alone, and let us work for the Egyptians.’ It would have been better for us to be slaves for the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!”
BSBDid we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
WEBBEIsn’t this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
NETIsn’t this what we told you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, because it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’ ”
LSVIs this not the word which we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, Cease from us, and we serve the Egyptians; for [it is] better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in a wilderness?”
FBVDidn't we tell you back in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can go on being slaves to the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to be Egyptian slaves than to die here in the desert!”
T4TThat is what we told you when we were in Egypt! We said, ‘Leave us alone, and let us work for the Egyptians [RHQ]!’ It would have been better for us to be slaves for the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!”
LEBIsn’t this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve Egypt!’ because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert.”
BBEDid we not say to you in Egypt, Let us be as we are, working for the Egyptians? for it is better to be the servants of the Egyptians than to come to our death in the waste land.
JPSIs not this the word that we spoke unto thee in Egypt, saying: Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.'
ASVIs not this the word that we spake unto thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
DRAIs not this the word that we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying: Depart from us that we may serve the Egyptians? for it was much better to serve them, than to die in the wilderness.
YLTIs not this the word which we spake unto thee in Egypt, saying, Cease from us, and we serve the Egyptians; for better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in a wilderness?'
DrbyIs not this what we told thee in Egypt, when we said, Let us alone, and we will serve the Egyptians? For [it had been] better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.
RVIs not this the word that we spake unto thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
WbstrIs not this the word that we told thee in Egypt, Saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
KJB-1769Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. (Is not this the word that we did tell thee/you in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. )
KJB-1611[fn]Is not this the word that wee did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let vs alone, that we may serue the Egyptians? For it had bene better for vs to serue the Egyptians, then that wee should die in the wildernesse. (Is not this the word that we did tell thee/you in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, then that we should die in the wilderness.)
BshpsDyd not we tell thee this in Egypt, saying, let vs be in rest, that we maye serue the Egyptians? For it had ben better for vs to haue serued the Egyptians, then for to dye in the wyldernesse. (Dyd not we tell thee/you this in Egypt, saying, let us be in rest, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to have served the Egyptians, then for to dye in the wilderness.)
GnvaDid not wee tell thee this thing in Egypt, saying, Let vs be in rest, that we may serue the Egyptians? for it had bene better for vs to serue the Egyptians, then that wee shoulde dye in the wildernesse. (Did not we tell thee/you this thing in Egypt, saying, Let us be in rest, that we may serve the Egyptians? for it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, then that we should dye in the wilderness. )
CvdlIs not this it, that we sayde vnto the in Egipte? Leaue of, & let vs serue the Egipcians: for it were better for vs to serue the Egipcians, then to dye in the wyldernes? (Is not this it, that we said unto the in Egypt? Leaue of, and let us serve the Egyptians: for it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, then to dye in the wilderness?)
WyclWhether this is not the word which we spaken to thee in Egipt, `and seiden, Go awei fro vs, that we serue Egipcians? for it is myche betere to serue hem, than to die in wildirnesse. (Whether this is not the word which we spaken to thee/you in Egypt, `and said, Go away from us, that we serve Egyptians? for it is much better to serve them, than to die in wilderness.)
LuthIst‘s nicht das, das wir dir sagten in Ägypten: Höre auf und laß uns den Ägyptern dienen? Denn es wäre uns ja besser, den Ägyptern zu dienen, denn in der Wüste sterben. (Ist‘s not das, the we/us you/to_you saidn in Egypt: Listen on and let us/to_us/ourselves the Ägyptern dienen? Because it wäre us/to_us/ourselves ja besser, the Ägyptern to dienen, because in the/of_the desert die.)
ClVgnonne iste est sermo, quem loquebamur ad te in Ægypto, dicentes: Recede a nobis, ut serviamus Ægyptiis? multo enim melius erat servire eis, quam mori in solitudine. (nonne this it_is sermo, which loquebamur to you(sg) in Ægypto, saying: Recede from nobis, as serviamus Ægyptiis? multo because melius was servire eis, how mori in solitudine. )
14:5-14 Because there was no real repentance on the part of Pharaoh and his officials, once the immediate terror of their experience had worn off, their self-interest reasserted itself and they determined to recapture their slave labor.
?,not this the,word which/who spoke to,you in/on/at/with,Egypt
The Israelites ask this question to emphasize that this is what they had told Moses. If you would not use a rhetorical question for this purpose in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation and communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: “This is exactly what we told you while we were in Egypt”
in/on/at/with,Egypt to=say let_~_alone from=him/it and,serve DOM from_Miʦrayim/(Miʦrayim/(Egypt))s
If it would be more natural in your language, you could express the portion following saying as an indirect quotation. Alternate translation: “in Egypt? We told you to leave us alone so we could serve the Egyptians.”
Like several other events recorded in Scripture, the Bible’s account of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai includes an abundance of geographical references, yet it remains one of the most hotly debated topics among scholars, and numerous theories have been offered. The vast majority of geographical references provided in the story are disputed, including the place where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the location of Mount Sinai (see Proposed Locations for Mount Sinai map), and the various stops along the Israelites’ journey. A few locations have been established with some degree of scholarly consensus, but even these are not without opposing viewpoints. Amidst this incredible diversity of opinion, however, a single verse provides one of the most helpful clues for weighing the merits of one viewpoint over another: “By the way of Mount Seir it takes eleven days to reach Kadesh-barnea from Horeb” (Deuteronomy 1:2). For those who assume the Bible’s account to be trustworthy, this verse appears to require the following for any theory to be considered viable: 1) Kadesh-barnea and Mount Sinai must have been located at a distance from each other that could reasonably have been expected to take eleven days for an entire nation of people with small children, flocks, equipment, and perhaps even elderly members to travel on foot; and 2) the pace established by this distance over eleven days should most likely be considered the typical pace for the Israelites as they traveled from place to place along the other parts of the journey. This two-pronged test clearly strains many of the theories put forth to this point, especially when one factors in the time references given for the start of the journey (Exodus 12:6; Numbers 33:3), the middle of the journey (Exodus 16:1; Numbers 33:8), and the end of the journey (Exodus 19:1). In short, the journey from Rameses to the Wilderness of Sin took 31 days, since it included the 15th day of the second month, and the rest of the journey took another 16 days, assuming they arrived at Mount Sinai on the 15th day (not the first day, etc.) of the third month. Along with these criteria, a theory’s overall congruence with other established geographical and archeological data should bolster its credibility over other proposals. Another consideration is the extreme similarity between the events at Rephidim (Exodus 17) and the events at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 20:1-13; 27:12-14; Deuteronomy 32:51; Ezekiel 47:19; 48:28), raising the question of whether Rephidim (meaning “resting places”) is in fact Kadesh-barnea. With these things in mind, the map below proposes a route for the exodus that meets virtually all of these criteria. A careful analysis and explanation of all the elements of the map is far beyond the scope of this article, but a few key points should be noted. The term Red Sea, in addition to referring to what we now regard it, must have also applied to the interconnected lakes and marshlands that lay along what is now the Suez Canal. Also, the portion of the journey that passed through the wilderness for three days without water (Exodus 15:22; Numbers 33:8) may have been comprised of a partial first day, a full second day, and a partial third day, much like Jesus’ time in the tomb is reckoned as three days in Matthew 12:40. Most notably, Mount Sinai is placed on this map at Gebel Khashm et-Tarif, which is appropriately located near, but not in, Midian (Exodus 3:1; 18:5; Numbers 10:29-30). It is also located 89 miles from Kadesh-barnea (assuming Kadesh is at Tall al-Quderat), which establishes a reasonable pace of 7.6 miles (12.2 km) per day to travel between them in 11 days. This lines up well with several known sources of water along that route (e.g., `Ain Qedeis [Hazar-addar?], Tamilat Suwelima [Hor-haggiggad?], and the spring at Kuntillet al-Girafi [unknown ancient identification]). This general pace then synchronizes very well with the timetable and distances required by this map for the other parts of the journey. The distance from Rameses to the Wilderness of Sin (where it is located here) could be completed in under 26 days, leaving an acceptable buffer of about 5 days for the parting of the Red Sea and perhaps a slower pace through the Wilderness of Shur/Etham. The entire journey took about 60 days, and the journey from the Wilderness of Sin to Mount Sinai took about 29 days. This leaves an acceptable buffer of time to complete the rest of the journey (about 16 days of travel) with a very adequate two weeks of extra time for Jethro to visit Moses and the Israelites to do battle with the Amalekites (Exodus 17-18). It should be noted that this timetable generally assumes (but does not necessarily require) that travel continued on sabbath days, but Scripture does not make clear whether travel was prohibited as work prior to the giving of the law at Mount Sinai.
