< Egzòd 1 >

1 Men non pitit Jakòb yo ki te desann avè l' nan peyi Lejip ansanm ak tout fanmi yo:
The sons of Jacob who went to Egypt with him along with their families were
2 Se te Woubenn, Simeyon, Levi epi Jida,
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
3 Isaka, Zabilon epi Benjamen,
Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,
4 Dann ak Nèftali, Gad ak Asè.
Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5 Sa te fè antou swasanndis moun nan ras Jakòb la. Jozèf menm te deja nan peyi Lejip la.
Altogether there were 70 people [who went with] Jacob. That included his [sons, his grandsons, and two great-grandsons]. [His son] Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 Apre sa, Jozèf mouri, tout frè l' yo mouri tou ansanm ak tout moun menm laj ak yo.
[Eventually] Joseph and his [older and younger] brothers and everyone [else in their family who lived] (in that generation/at that time) died.
7 Men pèp Izrayèl la te fè anpil pitit, yo te peple. Yo te vin anpil. Yo te vin fò, yo te toupatou nan peyi a.
But Jacob’s descendants kept giving birth to many children [IDM]. The number [of his descendants] kept becoming larger and larger. As a result, there were so many of them that they were everywhere in Egypt (OR, that they [became a threat] to the Egyptians).
8 Te vin gen yon lòt wa nan peyi Lejip la. Wa sa a pa t' konn anyen sou Jozèf.
Then [several hundred years later], a new king began to rule [MTY] in Egypt. He did not know [what] Joseph [had done for the people of Egypt long ago].
9 Li di pèp la konsa: -Gade. Pèp Izrayèl la vin pi plis pase nou. Yo pi fò pase nou.
He said to his people, “Look [at what has happened]! The Israeli people have become so numerous and so powerful that they [now might conquer] us!
10 Tande non! Fòk nou jwenn yon jan wi, pou n' bat ak moun sa yo, pou yo pa vin plis toujou. Paske, si yon lagè pete la a, yo ka mete tèt ansanm ak lènmi nou yo pou yo bat nou. Apre sa, y'a pati kite peyi a.
We must find a way to control them! If we do not do that, their population will continue to grow. Then, if enemies [PRS] attack us, they will join with our enemies and fight against us, and they will escape from [our] land.”
11 Se konsa yo mete kèk chèf sou pèp Izrayèl la pou kraze kouraj yo, pou fè yo fè kòve travo fòse san pran souf. Moun pèp Izrayèl yo bati lavil Piton ak Ranmsès pou farawon an. Se nan lavil sa yo yo te fè depo manje.
So [the king and his officials] put supervisors over the Israeli people to cause them to suffer very much by [forcing them] to work very hard. They forced [the Israeli people to] build [two] cities, Pithom and Ramses, in which to store [supplies for the king/government].
12 Men, tank moun Lejip yo t'ap peze moun pèp Izrayèl yo, se tank yo t'ap fè pitit, se plis yo t'ap peple. Moun Lejip yo vin rayi moun pèp Izrayèl yo.
But the more cruelly they treated the [Israeli people], the bigger the Israeli [population] grew, and they became more numerous all over [the land]. So the Egyptian people began to be afraid of the Israeli people.
13 Se konsa, yo fè pèp Izrayèl la tounen esklav.
They forced the Israeli people to work very hard,
14 Yo rann yo lavi minab, yo fè yo travay rèd ap bat mòtye, ap fè brik, ap fè tout lòt kalite kòve nan jaden. Yo bat yo, yo fòse yo fè tout kalite travay sa yo.
and by making them slaves, they made their lives miserable. They [forced them] to [build many buildings with] mortar and bricks. [They also forced them to do] other work in the fields. [In making them do all this work, the Egyptian officials treated them] ruthlessly/cruelly.
15 Lè sa a, te gen de fanmchay ki te konn akouche medam ebre yo. Yonn te rele Chifra, lòt la te rele Pwa. Wa Lejip la rele yo,
There were two Hebrew (midwives/women who helped the women when they were giving birth). [Hebrew means the same as Israeli.] The names of the women were Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to [those two women],
16 li di yo: -Lè n'ap akouche medam ebre yo, lè yo sou choukèt, louvri je nou. Si pitit la se yon gason, touye l'. Men si se yon fi, kite l' viv.
“When you help the Hebrew women when they are giving birth [MTY], if [the baby that is born] is a boy, you must kill it. If [the baby] is a girl, you (may let it live/do not have to kill them).”
17 Men, fanmchay yo te gen krentif pou Bondye. Yo pa t' fe sa wa Lejip la te ba yo lòd fè a. Yo te kite ti gason yo viv tou.
But the midwives feared/revered God. So they did not do what the king told them to do. They allowed the baby boys to live.
18 Lè sa a, wa a fè rele fanmchay yo, li mande yo: -Poukisa nou fè sa? Apa nou kite ti gason yo viv tou?
So the king summoned the [two] midwives and said to them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the baby boys live?”
19 Medam yo reponn: -Fanm ebre sa yo pa tankou fanm Lejip yo non. Yo gen kouraj sou yo wi. Anvan fanmchay la rive, yo gen tan akouche.
[One of] the midwives replied to the king, “[You need to realize that] the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. The Hebrew women are very strong/healthy. They give birth [to their babies] before we can get to them [to help them].”
20 Bondye te beni fanmchay yo. Moun pèp Izrayèl yo menm t'ap vin pi plis toujou. Yo t'ap vin pi fò.
So God acted kindly toward the midwives, and the [Hebrew] people became even more numerous and strong.
21 Paske fanmchay yo te gen krentif pou Bondye, Bondye te ba yo anpil pitit.
Furthermore, because the midwives feared/revered God, he enabled them also to give birth to children.
22 Lè sa a, farawon an bay pèp la lòd sa a: -Se pou nou jete tout ti gason ki fèt lakay moun ebre yo nan gwo larivyè a. Men, kite tout ti fi yo viv.
Then the king commanded all (the [Egyptian] people/his [advisors]): “You must throw into the Nile [River] every baby boy born that the [Hebrew women] give birth to! But you can allow the baby girls to live.”

< Egzòd 1 >