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 sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob):

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.

All the souls who came out of Jacob’s body were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt already.

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

Joseph died, as did 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.

The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew 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 arose a new king over Egypt, who didn’t know Joseph.

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

He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more 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’s deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it happen that when any war breaks out, they also join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and escape 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;

Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage 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 the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They started to dread the children of Israel.

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

The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve,

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 service in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve.

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),

The king of Egypt spoke 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 you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall 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 didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys 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?”

The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing and saved the boys 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!”

The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

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

God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty.

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

Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

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.”

Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”