Exodus 1
1 These ben the names of the sones of Israel, that entriden into Egipt with Jacob; alle entriden with her housis;
These were the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob) who came with him to Egypt along with their families:
2 Ruben, Symeon,
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Leuy, Judas, Isachar, Zabulon, and Benjamin,
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan, and Neptalim, Gad, and Aser.
Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 Therfor alle the soules of hem that yeden out of `the hipe of Jacob weren seuenti and fyue.
Jacob had 70 descendants there, including Joseph who was already in Egypt.
6 Forsothe Joseph was in Egipt; and whanne he was deed, and alle hise brithren, and al his kynrede,
Eventually Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died.
7 the sones of Israel encreessiden, and weren multiplied as buriounnyng, and thei weren maad strong greetli, and filliden the lond.
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 A newe kyng, that knewe not Joseph, roos in the meene tyme on Egipt, and seide to his puple, Lo!
Then a new king came to power who didn't know anything about Joseph.
9 the puple of the sones of Israel is myche, and strongere 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 ye, wiseli oppresse we it, lest perauenture it be multiplied; and lest, if batel risith ayens vs, it be addid to oure enemyes, and go out of the lond, whanne we ben ouercomun.
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 so he made maistris of werkis souereyns to hem, that thei schulden turmente hem with chargis. And thei maden citees of tabernaclis to Farao, Fiton, and Ramesses.
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 And bi hou myche thei oppressiden hem, bi so myche thei weren multiplied, and encreessiden more.
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 Egipcians hatiden the sones of Israel, and turmentiden, and scorneden hem;
The Egyptians worked the Israelites brutally,
14 and brouyten her lijf to bitternesse bi hard werkis of cley and to tijl stoon, and bi al seruage, bi which thei weren oppressid in the werkis of erthe.
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 Forsothe the kyng of Egipt seide to the mydwyues of Ebrews, of whiche oon was clepid Sefora, the tother Fua;
Then the king gave orders to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah.
16 and he commaundide to hem, Whanne ye schulen do the office of medewyues to Ebrew wymmen, and the tyme of childberyng schal come, if it is a knaue child, sle ye him; if it is a womman, kepe ye.
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 Forsothe the medewyues dredden God, and diden not bi the comaundement of the kyng of Egipt, but kepten knaue children.
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 To whiche clepid to hym the kyng seide, What is this thing which ye wolden do, that ye wolden kepe the children?
The king of Egypt called the midwives in and demanded to know, “Why have you done this— letting the male children live?”
19 Whiche answeriden, Ebrew wymmen ben not as the wymmen of Egipt, for thei han kunnyng of the craft of medewijf, and childen bifore that we comen to hem.
“Hebrew women aren't like Egyptian women,” the midwives told Pharaoh. “They give birth more easily—they have them before we midwives arrive.”
20 Therfor God dide wel to medewyues; and the puple encreesside, and was coumfortid greetli.
God treated the midwives well, and the people increased in number so there were even more of them.
21 And for the mydewyues dredden God, he bildide `housis to hem.
Because the midwives revered God, he gave them families of their own.
22 Therfor Farao comaundide al his puple, and seide, What euer thing of male kynde is borun to Ebrewis, `caste ye into the flood; what euer thing of wymmen kynde, kepe ye.
Then Pharaoh issued this order to all his people: “Throw every Hebrew boy that's born into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
