Exodus 1

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

Now these are the names of the children of Israel, that came into Egypt with Jacob, every man and his household they came.

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

And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls; together with Joseph who was already in Egypt.

6 And Joseph dies, and all his brothers, and all that generation;

And Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.

7 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.

And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

8 And there rises a new king over Egypt, who has not known Joseph,

Now there rose up a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.

9 and he says to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel [are] more numerous and mighty than we.

And he said unto his people: Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more numerous and mightier than we.

10 Give help! Let us act wisely concerning it, lest it multiply, and it has come to pass, when war happens, that it has been joined, even it, to those hating us, and has fought against us, and has gone up out of the land.”

Come, let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there happen to be a war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and depart out of the land.

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

And they set over taskmasters, to afflict them with their burdensome labors; and they built treasure cities, for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses.

12 and as they afflict it, so it multiplies, and so it breaks forth, and they are distressed because of the sons of Israel;

But in the measure that they afflicted them, so they multiplied and so they spread out; and they felt abhorrence because of the children of Israel.

13 and the Egyptians cause the sons of Israel to serve with rigor,

And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to labor with rigor:

14 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 rigor.

And they made their lives bitter with hard labor, in mortar, and in bricks, and in all manner of labor in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them labor with rigor.

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

And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah;

16 and says, “When you cause the Hebrew women to bear, and have looked on the children, if it [is] a son, then you have put him to death; and if it [is] a daughter, then she has lived.”

And he said: When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, ye shall look upon the birth; if it be a son, then shall ye kill him; but if it be a daughter, then may she live.

17 And the midwives fear God, and have not done as the king of Egypt has spoken to them, and they keep the boys alive;

But the midwives feared God, and they did not as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but saved the men-children alive.

18 and the king of Egypt calls for the midwives and says to them, “Why have you done this thing, and keep the boys alive?”

And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and he said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive?

19 And the midwives say to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women [are] not as the Egyptian women, for they [are] lively; before the midwife comes to them—they have borne!”

And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively; ere the midwife cometh in unto them they are delivered.

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

And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

21 and it comes to pass, because the midwives have feared God, that He makes households for them;

And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

22 and Pharaoh lays a charge on all his people, saying, “Every son who is born—you cast him into the River, and every daughter you keep alive.”

And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.