Exodus 1

Israel Oppressed in Egypt

1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his family: ^a

²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

³Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

⁴Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.

⁵The total number of Jacob’s descendants ^bwas 70; ^cdJoseph was already in Egypt.

⁶Then Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died. ^e7But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous ^fso that the land was filled with them.

⁸A new king, who had not known Joseph, came to power in Egypt. ⁹He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. ^g10Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.” ^h11So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. ⁱThey built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities ^jfor Pharaoh. ¹²But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread ^kthe Israelites. ¹³They worked the Israelites ruthlessly ^l14and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them. ^m

¹⁵Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶“When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. ⁿIf the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.” ¹⁷The Hebrew midwives, however, feared God ^oand did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; ^pthey let the boys live. ¹⁸So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?”

¹⁹The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife can get to them.” ^q

²⁰So God was good to the midwives, ^rand the people multiplied and became very numerous. ²¹Since the midwives feared God, He gave them families. ^s22Pharaoh then commanded all his people: “You must throw every son born to the Hebrews ^tinto the Nile, but let every daughter live.” ^u