And Pharaoh said is an awkward break into the direct speech, probably caused by a literary seam. (See the discussion on “Sources” in “Translating Exodus,” page 2.) Since Pharaoh is still the same king who is speaking, some translations simply omit this break (Good News Translation, New English Bible, Translator’s Old Testament). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “And Pharaoh continued.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch interprets the said to mean “He thought” (see 2.10 and comment), but the following statement, you make them rest …, seems to clash with that interpretation. Behold is difficult to translate here, but it functions as a marker to command attention. Many versions omit it, but New International Version has “Look.” (See the comment at 1.9.)

The people of the land is an expression that usually refers to people who are free rather than to people who are slaves. So in this verse it may mean that the Egyptians rather than the Israelites were now many. But this seems to contradict the meaning of the context. For this reason Good News Translation and others prefer to follow the wording of the Samaritan Pentateuch (src SPsrc*) rather than the Masoretic Text. The addition of one letter in src SPsrc* gives the meaning “more than the people of the land.” Good News Translation makes this explicit with “You people have become more numerous than the Egyptians,” and New English Bible has “Your people already outnumber the native Egyptians.”

Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, however, strongly defends the wording of Masoretic Text with an {A} rating and suggests that people of the land should here be understood as people “subject to the corvée,” that is, the oppressed people. Although this is not the usual meaning of the expression, it does agree with the context. In fact, it gives almost the same meaning as src SPsrc*, with the exception of the comparative “more than.” Jerusalem Bible follows Masoretic Text and comes out with “Now that these common folk have grown to such numbers,” and New Jerusalem Bible even has “Now that the people have grown to such numbers in the country.” If the comparative idea (src SPsrc*) is followed, then a footnote will be appropriate, informing the reader what Masoretic Text really says.

And you make them rest is literally “and you [plural] cause them to stop.” From their burdens refers specifically to forced labor, as in verse 4. The meaning of the clause may be expressed either as a rhetorical question (Jerusalem Bible “do you want to stop them labouring?”) or as a sarcastic statement (New English Bible “yet you would have them stop working!”). Good News Translation‘s “And now you want to stop working!” omits the them, but this is probably due to the way the first part of the verse has been rendered.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• The king continued, “The Israelites have greatly increased in number. Now you [Moses and Aaron] want to make them stop working.

Or, with a footnote giving the Masoretic Text reading:

• You Israelites [all those Israelites present] are now more numerous than the Egyptians.* And now you [Moses and Aaron] want to cause them to stop working.
[*Following the Samaritan Pentateuch. The Masoretic text has The people of the land are now many.]

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 .