No straw is given is literally “Straw there-is-none given,” with one word expressing “there-is-none.” But there had to be straw for making bricks, as shown in verses 11-12. Given really means “provided,” and the implied provider would have been people other than the Israelites. Another way of expressing this clause is “No one gives [or, brings] us any straw.”

Your servants appears twice in this verse. As explained in the previous verse, it may be a polite way for the foremen to refer to themselves, so Good News Translation has “We are given no straw.” But probably all the Israelites are included in the “we.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch here interprets your servants as “our people” in the first instance, but as “us” in the second. As in the previous verse, if “us” is used for your servants, it will exclude the king.

Yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ introduces a quote within a quote. In some languages it may more easily be handled with indirect speech. One may say, for example, “And still they are telling us to make the same number of bricks!” Good News Translation uses the passive voice, “but we are still ordered to make bricks!” However, in languages that do not have a passive voice, Revised Standard Version‘s model will be helpful. They seems to be indefinite (New English Bible has “you”), but this is probably referring to the Egyptian taskmasters. Us refers to the same group as your servants, probably both the foremen and the Israelite workers. (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch uses “they” in reference to “our people”; see above.) If ‘Make bricks!’ is retained as a direct quote, it should be addressed to the same group understood as us.

And behold calls attention to what follows. (See the comment at 1.9.) It may be translated in a number of ways: “And now,” “Thus” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “Look” (New American Bible), “Here we are” (New English Bible). A natural expression should be chosen to show the emotional distress of the foremen. Your servants must here refer only to the foremen who are speaking (“we” in Good News Translation). Since they are referring to the beating in verse 14, an exclusive “we” should be employed, excluding the king and his officers. Are beaten is the same word as in verse 14.

But the fault is in your own people is not clear in the Hebrew. Literally it seems to say “and your people will be guilty.” But few translations have tried to follow this rather strange idea. Some even omit these words with a footnote explaining that the Hebrew is obscure (Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Good News Translation agrees basically with Revised Standard Version: “It is your people that are at fault.” Another way to express this is “It is your own people who are to blame.”

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 .