Exodus 1

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel that came into Egypt together with Jacob their father; they came in each with their whole family.

These were the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob) who came with him to Egypt along with their families:

2 Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judas,

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

3 Issachar, Zabulon, Benjamin,

Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

4 Dan and Nephthalim, Gad and Aser.

Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

5 But Joseph was in Egypt. And all the souls [born] of Jacob were seventy-five.

Jacob had 70 descendants there, including Joseph who was already in Egypt.

6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

Eventually Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died.

7 And the children of Israel increased and multiplied, and became numerous and grew exceedingly strong, and the land multiplied them.

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 And there arose up another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.

Then a new king came to power who didn't know anything about Joseph.

9 And he said to his nation, Behold, the race of the children of Israel is a great multitude, and is stronger than we:

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 come then, let us deal craftily with them, lest at any time they be increased, and whenever war shall happen to us, these also shall be added to our enemies, and having prevailed against us in war, they will depart out of the land.

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 And he set over them taskmasters, who should afflict them in their works; and they built strong cities for Pharao, both Pitho, and Ramesses, and On, which is Heliopolis.

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 But as they humbled them, by so much they multiplied, and grew exceedingly strong; and the Egyptians greatly abhorred the children of Israel.

But the more the Israelites were mistreated, the more they grew in numbers and spread out—and the more the Egyptians detested them.

13 And the Egyptians tyrannized over the children of Israel by force.

The Egyptians worked the Israelites brutally,

14 And they embittered their life by hard labors, in the clay and in brick-making, and all the works in the plains, according to all the works, wherein they caused them to serve with violence.

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 And the king of the Egyptians spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews; the name of the one was, Sepphora; and the name of the second, Phua.

Then the king gave orders to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah.

16 And he said, When you do the office of midwives to the Hebrew women, and they are about to be delivered, if it be a male, kill it; but if a female, save it.

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 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt appointed them; and they saved the male children alive.

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 And the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, Why is it that you have done this thing, and saved the male children alive?

The king of Egypt called the midwives in and demanded to know, “Why have you done this— letting the male children live?”

19 And the midwives said to Pharao, The Hebrew women are not as the women of Egypt, for they are delivered before the midwives go in to them. So they bore children.

“Hebrew women aren't like Egyptian women,” the midwives told Pharaoh. “They give birth more easily—they have them before we midwives arrive.”

20 And God did well to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very strong.

God treated the midwives well, and the people increased in number so there were even more of them.

21 And as the midwives feared God, they established for themselves families.

Because the midwives revered God, he gave them families of their own.

22 And Pharao charged all his people, saying, Whatever male [child] shall be born to the Hebrews, cast into the river; and every female, save it alive.

Then Pharaoh issued this order to all his people: “Throw every Hebrew boy that's born into the Nile, but let every girl live.”