Afterward is an important transition marker in the narrative. It introduces a new episode directly related to the one just told in the sense of “After this” (New English Bible) or “After that” (New American Bible); Good News Translation‘s “Then” is a bit weak. In some languages it will be necessary to say “After Moses and Aaron met with the leaders of Israel, they went….” Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh suggests that they were granted an audience with “the king of Egypt” in his palace, for went is literally “went in.” If it is necessary to say where Moses and Aaron went, one may translate went to Pharaoh as “… went into the palace to meet the king.” (Pharaoh as a title is discussed at 1.11b.) And said does not suggest that the two men addressed the king in unison; presumably one of them—Aaron, perhaps—was the speaker, but this is not indicated in the text. It is clear that they spoke to the king, for the text literally says “and they said to Pharaoh.”
Thus says the LORD is the special messenger formula indicating that the words which follow are the words of the LORD. (See the discussion at 4.22-23a.) Here the personal name of the LORD, Yahweh, was announced by two messengers who were authorized to speak for him. Yahweh is further introduced as the God of Israel, that is, the God of the people of Israel, the Israelites, in contrast with the gods of other peoples. Some translators will wish to use the personal name here; for example, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says…” or “Yahweh, who is the God of Israel, says….”
Let my people go is another formula used eight times in Exodus. (See the discussion at 4.22-23a.) The LORD is speaking, calling the Israelites his people. That they may hold a feast to me is quite different from “that they may serve me,” found elsewhere with this formula. It suggests a religious pilgrimage to a place where a “festival” (Good News Translation) will be observed, so New English Bible calls it a “pilgrim-feast.” Some languages will use a noun such as feast, “festival,” “fiesta,” and so on. In other languages one must employ a verbal expression; for example, “so that they may feast … to honor me” or “so that they may eat and drink … to honor me.” (See the discussion on holding a feast at 10.9 and 23.14.) It most probably involved animal sacrifice, as in 3.18, but that is not directly stated here. To me simply means “to honor me,” or “in my honour” (Translator’s Old Testament). In the wilderness may be “in the desert,” but see the discussion at 3.1. It is possible to reorder the clauses as Contemporary English Version does and say “Let my people go into the desert, so they can honor me with a celebration there.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• After Moses and Aaron had returned to Egypt, they went [into the palace] to the king and said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Free my people so that they can go to eat and drink in the wilderness to honor me.’ ”
Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .