Exodus 5:19

The Israelite foremen saw ¹  that they ²  were in trouble when they were told, ³  “You must not reduce the daily quota of your bricks.”

The Israelite foremen realised they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day."

The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble because they were told, "You must not reduce your daily amount of bricks."

Since Pharaoh would not let up on his demands, the Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble.

The Israelite foremen saw that they were in a bad way, having to go back and tell their workers, "Not one brick short in your daily quota."

Then the responsible men of the children of Israel saw that they were purposing evil when they said, The number of bricks which you have to make every day will be no less than before.

The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, "You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks."

And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, "You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota."

The Israelite foremen saw ¹  that they ²  were in trouble when they were told, ³  “You must not reduce the daily quota of your bricks.”

¹ tn The common Hebrew verb translated “saw,” like the common English verb for seeing, is also used to refer to mental perception and understanding, as in the question “See what I mean?” The foremen understood how difficult things would be under this ruling.

² tn The text has the sign of the accusative with a suffix and then a prepositional phrase: אֹתָם בְּרָע (’otam bÿra’), meaning something like “[they saw] them in trouble” or “themselves in trouble.” Gesenius shows a few examples where the accusative of the reflexive pronoun is represented by the sign of the accusative with a suffix, and these with marked emphasis (GKC 439 §135.k).

³ tn The clause “when they were told” translates לֵאמֹר (le’mor), which usually simply means “saying.” The thing that was said was clearly the decree that was given to them.