Exodus 1

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

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

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 All the people who were directly descended from Jacob were seventy-five, and Joseph was in Egypt already.

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

6 Joseph died, as did all his brothers, and all that generation.

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

7 The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with 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 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

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

9 He said to his people, "Look, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier 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, let us 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."

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 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Rameses.

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 the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. And they were in dread of 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 ruthlessly made the children of Israel labor,

The Egyptians worked the Israelites brutally,

14 and they made their lives bitter with hard labor, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of labor in the field, all their labors which they ruthlessly made them do.

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 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,

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

16 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."

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 do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys 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 The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, "Why have you done this thing, and have saved the boys alive?"

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

19 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."

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

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

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

21 It happened, because the midwives feared God, that he gave them families.

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

22 Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "You are to cast every son who is born to the Hebrews into the river, but every daughter you are to keep 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.”