< Exodus 1 >

1 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt; every man and his family came with Jacob.
Dette er Navnene paa Israels Sønner, der sammen med Jakob kom til Ægypten med deres Familier:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
Ruben, Simeon, Levi og Juda,
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
Issakar, Zebulon og Benjamin,
4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
Dan og Naftali, Gad og Aser.
5 All the offspring of Jacob were seventy persons: and Joseph had come to Egypt before them.
Jakobs Efterkommere udgjorde i alt halvfjerdsindstyve, men Josef var i Ægypten.
6 Then Joseph came to his end, and all his brothers, and all that generation.
Imidlertid døde Josef og alle hans Brødre og hele dette Slægtled.
7 And the children of Israel were fertile, increasing very greatly in numbers and in power; and the land was full of them.
Men Israeliterne var frugtbare og formerede sig, og de blev mange og overmaade talrige, saa at Landet blev fuldt af dem.
8 Now a new king came to power in Egypt, who had no knowledge of Joseph.
Da kom der en ny Konge over Ægypten, som ikke vidste noget om Josef;
9 And he said to his people, See, the people of Israel are greater in number and in power than we are:
og han sagde til sit Folk: »Se, Israels Folk bliver talrigere og stærkere end vi.
10 Let us take care for fear that their numbers may become even greater, and if there is a war, they may be joined with those who are against us, and make an attack on us, and go up out of the land.
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!«
11 So they put overseers of forced work over them, in order to make their strength less by the weight of their work. And they made store-towns for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses.
Saa satte man Fogeder over dem til at plage dem med Trællearbejde, og de maatte bygge Forraadsbyer for Farao: Pitom og Ra'amses.
12 But the more cruel they were to them, the more their number increased, till all the land was full of them. And the children of Israel were hated by the Egyptians.
Men jo mere man plagede dem, des flere blev de, og des mere bredte de sig, saa Ægypterne fik Rædsel for Israeliterne.
13 And they gave the children of Israel even harder work to do:
Og Ægypterne tvang Israeliterne til Trællearbejde
14 And made their lives bitter with hard work, making building-material and bricks, and doing all sorts of work in the fields under the hardest conditions.
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.
15 And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew women who gave help at the time of childbirth (the name of the one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah),
Ægypterkongen sagde da til Hebræerkvindernes Jordemødre, af hvilke den ene hed Sjifra, den anden Pua:
16 When you are looking after the Hebrew women in childbirth, if it is a son you are to put him to death; but if it is a daughter, she may go on living.
»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!«
17 But the women had the fear of God, and did not do as the king of Egypt said, but let the male children go on living.
Men Jordemødrene frygtede Gud og gjorde ikke, som Ægypterkongen havde befalet dem, men lod Drengebørnene leve.
18 And the king of Egypt sent for the women, and said to them, Why have you done this, and let the male children go on living?
Da lod Ægypterkongen Jordemødrene kalde og sagde til dem: »Hvorfor har I baaret eder saaledes ad og ladet Drengebørnene leve?«
19 And they said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are strong, and the birth takes place before we come to them.
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!«
20 And the blessing of God was on these women: and the people were increased in number and became very strong.
Og Gud gjorde vel imod Jordemødrene, og Folket blev stort og saare talrigt;
21 And because the women who took care of the Hebrew mothers had the fear of God, he gave them families.
og Gud gav Jordemødrene Afkom, fordi de frygtede ham.
22 And Pharaoh gave orders to all his people, saying, Every son who comes to birth is to be put into the river, but every daughter may go on living.
Da udstedte Farao den Befaling til hele sit Folk: »Alle Drengebørn, der fødes, skal I kaste i Nilen, men Pigebørnene skal I lade leve!«

< Exodus 1 >