Exodus 1

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:

And these [are] the names of the sons of Israel who are coming into Egypt with Jacob; a man and his household have they come;

2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,

3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,

4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.

Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.

And all the persons coming out of the thigh of Jacob are seventy persons; as to Joseph, he was in Egypt.

6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,

And Joseph dieth, and all his brethren, and all that generation;

7 but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.

and the sons of Israel have been fruitful, and they teem, and multiply, and are very very mighty, and the land is filled with them.

8 Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.

And there riseth a new king over Egypt, who hath not known Joseph,

9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us.

and he saith unto his people, 'Lo, the people of the sons of Israel [is] more numerous and mighty than we;

10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

give help! let us act wisely concerning it, lest it multiply, and it hath come to pass, when war happeneth, that it hath been joined, even it, unto those hating us, and hath fought against us, and hath gone out up of the land.'

11 So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.

And they set over it princes of tribute, so as to afflict it with their burdens, and it buildeth store-cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses;

12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.

and as they afflict it, so it multiplieth, and so it breaketh forth, and they are vexed because of the sons of Israel;

13 They worked the Israelites ruthlessly

and the Egyptians cause the sons of Israel to serve with rigour,

14 and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.

and make their lives bitter in hard service, in clay, and in brick, and in every [kind] of service in the field; all their service in which they have served [is] with rigour.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,

And the king of Egypt speaketh to the midwives, the Hebrewesses, (of whom the name of the one [is] Shiphrah, and the name of the second Puah),

16 “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”

and saith, 'When ye cause the Hebrew women to bear, and have looked on the children; if it [is] a son — then ye have put him to death; and if it [is] a daughter — then she hath lived.'

17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live.

And the midwives fear God, and have not done as the king of Egypt hath spoken unto them, and keep the lads alive;

18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

and the king of Egypt calleth for the midwives, and saith to them, 'Wherefore have ye done this thing, and keep the lads alive?'

19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”

And the midwives say unto Pharaoh, 'Because the Hebrew women [are] not as the Egyptian women, for they [are] lively; before the midwife cometh in unto them — they have borne!'

20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous.

And God doth good to the midwives, and the people multiply, and are very mighty;

21 And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.

and it cometh to pass, because the midwives have feared God, that He maketh for them households;

22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”

and Pharaoh layeth a charge on all his people, saying, 'Every son who is born — into the River ye do cast him, and every daughter ye do keep alive.'