Exodus 1
1
1These are the names of the Israelites who came to Egypt with Jacob along with their households: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5The total number in Jacob’s family was seventy. Joseph was already in Egypt. 6Eventually, Joseph, his brothers, and everyone in his generation died. 7But the Israelites were fertile and became populous. They multiplied and grew dramatically, filling the whole land.
Israel is oppressed
8Now a new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph. 9He said to his people, “The Israelite people are now larger in number and stronger than we are. 10Come on, let’s be smart and deal with them. Otherwise, they will only grow in number. And if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and then escape from the land.” 11As a result, the Egyptians put foremen of forced work gangs over the Israelites to harass them with hard work. They had to build storage cities named Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they grew and spread, so much so that the Egyptians started to look at the Israelites with disgust and dread. 13So the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites. 14They made their lives miserable with hard labor, making mortar and bricks, doing field work, and by forcing them to do all kinds of other cruel work.
15The king of Egypt spoke to two Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah: 16“When you are helping the Hebrew women give birth and you see the baby being born, if it’s a boy, kill him. But if it’s a girl, you can let her live.” 17Now the two midwives respected God so they didn’t obey the Egyptian king’s order. Instead, they let the baby boys live.
18So the king of Egypt called the two midwives and said to them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the baby boys live?”
19The two midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because Hebrew women aren’t like Egyptian women. They’re much stronger and give birth before any midwives can get to them.” 20So God treated the midwives well, and the people kept on multiplying and became very strong. 21And because the midwives respected God, God gave them households of their own.
22Then Pharaoh gave an order to all his people: “Throw every baby boy born to the Hebrews into the Nile River, but you can let all the girls live.”
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Exodus 1: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Exodus 1
1
1And these are the names of the sons of Israel who had come into Egypt; with Jacob had they come, each with his household: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5And all the souls that had come out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls; and Joseph was in Egypt. 6And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7And the children of Israel were fruitful, and swarmed and multiplied, and became exceeding strong; and the land was full of them.
8And there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we. 10Come on, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, if war occur, they take side with our enemies and fight against us, and go up out of the land. 11And they set over them service-masters to oppress them with their burdens. And they built store-cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Rameses. 12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread; and they were distressed because of the children of Israel. 13And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with harshness; 14and they embittered their life with hard labour in clay and bricks, and in all manner of labour in the field: all their labour with which they made them serve was with harshness.
15And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives — of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other was Puah — 16and he said, When ye help the Hebrew women in bearing, and see them on the stool, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him, but if a daughter, then she shall live. 17But the midwives feared God#GodHebrew: Elohim and did not as the king of Egypt had said to them, but saved the male children alive. 18And the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, Why have ye done this, and saved the male children alive? 19And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian; for they are strong, and they have borne before the midwife comes to them. 20And God#GodHebrew: Elohim dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God#GodHebrew: Elohim that he made them houses. 22Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, but every daughter ye shall save alive.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.