Exodus 1
1 Jakob hoi Izip prae ah kalaem imthung takoh Israel kaminawk boih ih ahmin loe,
These were the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob) who came with him to Egypt along with their families:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Issakar, Zebulun, Benjamin,
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad hoi Asher.
Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 Jakob ih caanawk loe sangqum boih ah qui sarihto oh o; Joseph loe Izip prae ah oh hmaloe.
Jacob had 70 descendants there, including Joseph who was already in Egypt.
6 Joseph hoi anih ih amyanawk, to nathuem ah kaom kaminawk doeh duek o boih.
Eventually Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died.
7 Israel kaminawk loe caa sak o, paroeai pop o; pung o moe, thacak o parai.
However, the Israelites had many children and their numbers increased rapidly. In fact there were so many of them that they became very powerful—the country was full of them.
8 To pacoengah Joseph panoek ai kangtha siangpahrang mah Izip prae to uk.
Then a new king came to power who didn't know anything about Joseph.
9 Anih mah angmah ih kaminawk khaeah, Khen oh, Israel kaminawk loe pop o parai moe, aicae pongah thacak o boeh.
He conferred with his fellow Egyptians and said, “Look at these Israelites—there are more than them than us, and they're more powerful than us.
10 Angzo oh; nihcae hae palunghahaih hoiah tamet si, to tih ai nahaeloe nihcae loe pop o aep aep tih boeh; misa angtukhaih om nahaeloe, nihcae loe aicae ih misanawk khaeah ni athum o tih, aicae hae tuh o ueloe, aicae prae hae caeh o taak sut tih, tiah a thuih pae.
We've got to make plan to deal with them before they become so many that if there's a war they'll side with our enemies and fight us, and flee the country.”
11 To pongah nihcae pacaekthlaek hanah hmawsaeng ukkungnawk to suek o. Faro ih hmuenmae patunghaih vangpui, Pithom hoi Raamses to nihcae hanah saksak.
So the Egyptians made them do forced labor and put taskmasters in charge of them. They used them to build the storage towns of Pithom and Rameses.
12 Nihcae to paroeai pacaekthlaek o, toe nihcae loe pung o moe, qoeng o tahang aep aep; Israel kaminawk loe Izip kaminawk pongah paroeai palung boeng o.
But the more the Israelites were mistreated, the more they grew in numbers and spread out—and the more the Egyptians detested them.
13 Izip kaminawk loe tahmenhaih tawn ai ah Israel caanawk to toksak o sak;
The Egyptians worked the Israelites brutally,
14 Izip kaminawk mah nihcae to thlung kangphaek lakhaih, amlai long hmai qoenghaih hoi laikok thungah karai parai toknawk to a sak o sak moe, pacaekthlaek o.
making their lives a misery. They made them do hard labor, building with mortar and brick, and all kind of heavy work in the fields. In all of this hard labor they treated them brutally.
15 Izip siangpahrang mah nawkta omsakkung Hebru nongpata hnik, Shiphrah hoi Puah khaeah,
Then the king gave orders to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah.
16 Hebru nongpatanawk nawkta ohsak naah, kahoihah khen hoih loe, nongpa nahaeloe hum hoi roep ah, nongpata loe pathlung hoih, tiah a naa.
He told them, “When you assist the Hebrew women during childbirth, if you see it's a boy, kill him; but if it's a girl, let her live.”
17 Toe nawkta omsakkung Hebru nongpata hnik loe Sithaw to zit hoi pongah, Izip siangpahrang mah thuih ih lok baktih toengah sah hoi ai; caa nongpanawk to pathlung hoi.
But because the midwives revered God, they didn't do what the king of Egypt had ordered. They let the boys live as well.
18 To pongah Izip siangpahrang mah nihnik to kawk moe, Tipongah hae tiah tok na sak hoi loe? Tipongah caa nongpanawk to na pathlung hoi loe? tiah a naa.
The king of Egypt called the midwives in and demanded to know, “Why have you done this— letting the male children live?”
19 Nawkta omsakkung hnik mah Faro khaeah, Hebru nongpatanawk loe Izip nongpatanawk baktiah om o ai; nihcae loe thacak o pongah, nawkta omsakkung pha ai naah nawkta tapen o ving boeh, tiah a naa hoi.
“Hebrew women aren't like Egyptian women,” the midwives told Pharaoh. “They give birth more easily—they have them before we midwives arrive.”
20 Sithaw mah nawkta omsakkungnawk nuiah anghoehaih tawnh pongah, kami pung o moe, thacak o.
God treated the midwives well, and the people increased in number so there were even more of them.
21 Nawkta omsakkung hnik loe Sithaw to zit hoi pongah, Sithaw mah nihnik khaeah imthong hoi khosakhaih to paek.
Because the midwives revered God, he gave them families of their own.
22 To naah Faro mah angmah ih kaminawk khaeah, Tapen caa nongpa to vapui thungah va o boih ah, nongpata loe pathlung o boih ah, tiah lok a paek.
Then Pharaoh issued this order to all his people: “Throw every Hebrew boy that's born into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
