Exodus 1
1
Exodus 1
1¶ Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt with Jacob; each one came in with his household.
2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4Dan and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
6And Joseph died and all his brethren and all that generation.
7And the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly and multiplied and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8¶ Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.
9And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.
10Now, therefore, let us be wise concerning him, that he not multiply and it come to pass that when war comes, he shall also join with our enemies and fight against us and so leave the land.
11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built the supply cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses.
12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew, so much that they loathed the sons of Israel.
13And the Egyptians made the sons of Israel serve with rigor,
14and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, making mortar and brick and in all manner of service in the field; all their service, in which they made them serve, was with rigor.
15¶ And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and another named Puah;
16and he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women and see the sex, if it is a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.
17But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them but gave the men children their lives.
18And the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing and have given the men children their lives?
19And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women, for they are lively and are delivered before the midwives come in unto them.
20Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and waxed very mighty.
21And it came to pass because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
22Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall give them their lives.
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Exodus 1: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Exodus 1
1
1-5These are the names of the Israelites who went to Egypt with Jacob, each bringing his family members:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
Seventy persons in all generated by Jacob’s seed. Joseph was already in Egypt.
6-7Then Joseph died, and all his brothers—that whole generation. But the children of Israel kept on reproducing. They were very prolific—a population explosion in their own right—and the land was filled with them.
“A New King . . . Who Didn’t Know Joseph”
8-10A new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph. He spoke to his people with alarm, “There are way too many of these Israelites for us to handle. We’ve got to do something: Let’s devise a plan to contain them, lest if there’s a war they should join our enemies, or just walk off and leave us.”
11-14So they organized them into work-gangs and put them to hard labor under gang-foremen. They built the storage cities Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. But the harder the Egyptians worked them the more children the Israelites had—children everywhere! The Egyptians got so they couldn’t stand the Israelites and treated them worse than ever, crushing them with slave labor. They made them miserable with hard labor—making bricks and mortar and back-breaking work in the fields. They piled on the work, crushing them under the cruel workload.
15-16The king of Egypt had a talk with the two Hebrew midwives; one was named Shiphrah and the other Puah. He said, “When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the sex of the baby. If it’s a boy, kill him; if it’s a girl, let her live.”
17-18But the midwives had far too much respect for God and didn’t do what the king of Egypt ordered; they let the boy babies live. The king of Egypt called in the midwives. “Why didn’t you obey my orders? You’ve let those babies live!”
19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; they’re vigorous. Before the midwife can get there, they’ve already had the baby.”
20-21God was pleased with the midwives. The people continued to increase in number—a very strong people. And because the midwives honored God, God gave them families of their own.
22So Pharaoh issued a general order to all his people: “Every boy that is born, drown him in the Nile. But let the girls live.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.