Enslaved
A new king over Egypt then arose,
Joseph's esteem, no longer of record.
He said, "Behold, Israel has grown large;
They are too numerous to be ignored."
"Come now, we need to deal shrewdly with this,
Lest they increase, with our enemies band,
Before war breaks out, and we are out-manned,
Fight against us and escape from the land."
Therefore, they set taskmasters over them:
Heavy burdens were laid on their shoulders,
Forced to build stores in Pithom and Raamses,
Heavily burdened by the king's soldiers.
Oppression did not have desired effect;
The opposite, in fact, a thing quite odd:
It seems the more the king pressed down on them,
The more they multiplied and spread abroad.
And so all Egypt lived in dread of them;
Their ruthlessness 'gainst Israel increased.
As slaves, they made their lives bitter and hard;
The mortar, brick, and field work never ceased.
The king, in this, did not relinquish, waive,
And thus did Israel become a slave.
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(from Exodus 1)
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