2 Mosebog 1
1 Dette er Navnene paa Israels Sønner, der sammen med Jakob kom til Ægypten med deres Familier:
These were the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob) who came with him to Egypt along with their families:
2 Ruben, Simeon, Levi og Juda,
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Issakar, Zebulon og Benjamin,
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan og Naftali, Gad og Aser.
Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 Jakobs Efterkommere udgjorde i alt halvfjerdsindstyve, men Josef var i Ægypten.
Jacob had 70 descendants there, including Joseph who was already in Egypt.
6 Imidlertid døde Josef og alle hans Brødre og hele dette Slægtled.
Eventually Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died.
7 Men Israeliterne var frugtbare og formerede sig, og de blev mange og overmaade talrige, saa at Landet blev fuldt af dem.
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 Da kom der en ny Konge over Ægypten, som ikke vidste noget om Josef;
Then a new king came to power who didn't know anything about Joseph.
9 og han sagde til sit Folk: »Se, Israels Folk bliver talrigere og stærkere end vi.
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 Velan, lad os gaa klogt til Værks imod dem, for at de ikke skal blive for mange; ellers kan det hænde, naar vi kommer i Krig, at de gaar over til vore Modstandere og kæmper mod os og til sidst forlader Landet!«
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 Saa satte man Fogeder over dem til at plage dem med Trællearbejde, og de maatte bygge Forraadsbyer for Farao: Pitom og Ra'amses.
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 Men jo mere man plagede dem, des flere blev de, og des mere bredte de sig, saa Ægypterne fik Rædsel for Israeliterne.
But the more the Israelites were mistreated, the more they grew in numbers and spread out—and the more the Egyptians detested them.
13 Og Ægypterne tvang Israeliterne til Trællearbejde
The Egyptians worked the Israelites brutally,
14 og gjorde dem Livet bittert ved haardt Arbejde med Ler og Tegl og alle Haande Markarbejde, ved alt det Arbejde, de tvang dem til at udføre for sig.
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 Ægypterkongen sagde da til Hebræerkvindernes Jordemødre, af hvilke den ene hed Sjifra, den anden Pua:
Then the king gave orders to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah.
16 »Naar I forløser Hebræerkvinderne, skal I se godt efter ved Fødselen, og er det et Drengebarn, tag saa Livet af det, men er det et Pigebarn, lad det saa leve!«
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 Men Jordemødrene frygtede Gud og gjorde ikke, som Ægypterkongen havde befalet dem, men lod Drengebørnene leve.
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 Da lod Ægypterkongen Jordemødrene kalde og sagde til dem: »Hvorfor har I baaret eder saaledes ad og ladet Drengebørnene leve?«
The king of Egypt called the midwives in and demanded to know, “Why have you done this— letting the male children live?”
19 Men Jordemødrene svarede Farao: »Hebræerkvinderne er ikke som de Ægyptiske Kvinder, de har let ved at føde; inden Jordemoderen kommer til dem, har de allerede født!«
“Hebrew women aren't like Egyptian women,” the midwives told Pharaoh. “They give birth more easily—they have them before we midwives arrive.”
20 Og Gud gjorde vel imod Jordemødrene, og Folket blev stort og saare talrigt;
God treated the midwives well, and the people increased in number so there were even more of them.
21 og Gud gav Jordemødrene Afkom, fordi de frygtede ham.
Because the midwives revered God, he gave them families of their own.
22 Da udstedte Farao den Befaling til hele sit Folk: »Alle Drengebørn, der fødes, skal I kaste i Nilen, men Pigebørnene skal I lade leve!«
Then Pharaoh issued this order to all his people: “Throw every Hebrew boy that's born into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
