But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!” Pharaoh continued, “Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop working!” That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words.” (Exodus 5:4-9)

Words of liberation
become words of deception
In the ears of the powerful.

Seen above (and on home-page mastheads): “Shadowbrook Leaves” by Diane Walker in the current ECVA exhibition, "Recognition & Return."

Readings are from Streams of Mercy: a meditative commentary on the Bible by Ann Kristin Haldors Fontaine (used with permission of the author).