And said to them continues the sentence from verse 2, with the subject understood. But the Hebrew repeats the subject, “and the sons of Israel said to them.” In many languages this will be unnatural style and may be shortened as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, or even omitted (Contemporary English Version). Would that we had died is archaic English for “If only we had died” (New Revised Standard Version). Literally the Hebrew says “Who will give [or, grant] us to die by the hand of Yahweh.” It expresses the idea of a strong wish. By the hand of the LORD suggests that Yahweh would cause their death. So Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version combine the two, “We wish that the LORD had killed us,” or one may say “… that the LORD had caused us to die.” In the land of Egypt may be reduced to “in Egypt” (Good News Translation).

When we sat by the fleshpots, literally “in our sitting by a pot of the flesh,” simply refers to a pot for cooking meat. It is a figurative way of saying, as Good News Translation does, “There we could at least sit down and eat meat.” Contemporary English Version has “When we lived there, we could at least sit down and eat….” And ate bread to the full is literally “in our eating bread to be full.” The word for bread sometimes refers to “other food” (Good News Translation) as well, but probably here it is more specific.

For is the word ki, which takes on various meanings depending on the context. Here it may be understood either as “because,” giving the reason for the people’s wish to be back in Egypt, or as “But” (Good News Translation), showing by contrast their actual situation. (New Jerusalem Bible has “As it is.”) You have brought us out is literally “you have caused us to come out.” Here the you is plural, since they are complaining to both Moses and Aaron (verse 2). The us, of course, is exclusive. Into this wilderness refers to the “wilderness of Sin” (verse 1).

To kill is the infinitive form of the verb, with this whole assembly as the direct object. The word for assembly (qahal) is different from the word for “congregation” in verses 1 and 2, but the meaning is practically the same (see the comment at 12.6.). Durham has “this whole crowd,” which seems to fit the context here. Since the Israelites are referring to themselves, Good News Translation does not translate qahal but simply repeats the pronoun “us” instead. With hunger (New American Bible “famine”) describes the method by which the people say Moses and Aaron intend to kill them. So Good News Translation has “to starve us all to death.”

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 .