1 Now these are the names of the sons
of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man
and his household came with Jacob):
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 All the souls who came out of Jacob’s
body were seventy souls, and Joseph was
in Egypt already.
6 Joseph died, as did all his brothers, and
all that generation.
7 The children of Israel were fruitful, and
increased abundantly, and multiplied, and
grew exceedingly mighty; and the land
was filled with them.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt,
who didn’t know Joseph.
9 He said to his people, “Behold,† the
people of the children of Israel are more
and mightier than we.
10 Come, let’s deal wisely with them, lest
they multiply, and it happen that when any
war breaks out, they also join themselves
to our enemies and fight against us, and
escape out of the land.”
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over
them to afflict them with their burdens.
They built storage cities for Pharaoh:
Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the
more they multiplied and the more they
spread out. They started to dread the children
of Israel.
13 The Egyptians ruthlessly made the
children of Israel serve,
14 and they made their lives bitter with
hard service in mortar and in brick, and in
all kinds of service in the field, all their service,
in which they ruthlessly made them
serve.
15 The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew
midwives, of whom the name of the one
was Shiphrah, and the name of the other
Puah,
16 and he said, “When you perform the
duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women,
and see them on the birth stool, if it is a
son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a
daughter, then she shall live.”
17 But the midwives feared God,‡ and
didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded
them, but saved the baby boys
alive.
18 The king of Egypt called for the midwives,
and said to them, “Why have you
done this thing and saved the boys alive?”
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because
the Hebrew women aren’t like the
Egyptian women; for they are vigorous
and give birth before the midwife comes to
them.” 20 God dealt well with the midwives,
and the people multiplied, and grew very
mighty.
21 Because the midwives feared God, he
gave them families.
22 Pharaoh commanded all his people,
saying, “You shall cast every son who is
born into the river, and every daughter
you shall save alive.”
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