Exodus 1:1–14

Israel’s Suffering in Egypt

1Now ^athese are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: ²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; ³Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; ⁴Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ⁵All those ¹who were descendants of Jacob were ^bseventy ²persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). ⁶And ^cJoseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. ^7dBut the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and ³grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

⁸Now there arose a new king over Egypt, ^ewho did not know Joseph. ⁹And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and ^fmightier than we; ^10gcome, let us ^hdeal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” ¹¹Therefore they set taskmasters over them ⁱto afflict them with their ^jburdens. And they built for Pharaoh ^ksupply cities, Pithom ^land Raamses. ¹²But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. ¹³So the Egyptians made the children of Israel ^mserve with ⁴rigor. ¹⁴And they ⁿmade their lives bitter with hard bondage—^oin mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.