< प्रस्थान 1 >

1 याकूबसँगै मिश्रमा आउने इस्राएलका छोराहरूका नाउँ यी नै हुन्:
These were the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob) who came with him to Egypt along with their families:
2 रूबेन, शिमियोन, लेवी र यहूदा,
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 इस्साखार, जबूलून, र बेन्यामीन,
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 दान, नप्‍ताली, गाद र आशेर ।
Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 याकूबका जम्मा सन्तानको सङ्ख्या सत्तरी जना थियो । योसेफ पहिले नै मिश्रमा थिए ।
Jacob had 70 descendants there, including Joseph who was already in Egypt.
6 त्यसपछि योसेफ, तिनका सबै दाजुहरू र त्यो सबै पुस्ता मरे ।
Eventually Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died.
7 इस्राएलीहरू फल्दै-फुल्दै र सङ्ख्यामा अत्यधिक बढ्दै गए, अनि तिनीहरू शक्तिशाली भए र तिनीहरूद्वारा देश भरियो ।
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 त्यसपछि योसेफको बारेमा थाहा नपाउने नयाँ राजाले शासन गर्न थाले ।
Then a new king came to power who didn't know anything about Joseph.
9 तिनले आफ्ना मानिसहरूलाई भने, “हेर, इस्राएलीहरू सङ्ख्यामा हामीभन्दा बढी भएका छन् र तिनीहरू हामीभन्दा शक्तिशाली भएका छन् ।
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 आओ, तिनीहरूसित बुद्धिमानीपूर्वक काम गरौँ नत्रभने तिनीहरूको सङ्ख्या वृद्धि भइरहनेछ । युद्ध भयो भने तिनीहरू हाम्रा शत्रुहरूसित मिल्न गई हाम्रै विरुद्धमा लड्नेछन् र देश छाडेर जानेछन् ।”
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 त्यसैले तिनीहरूलाई कठोर काम लगाएर तिनीहरूमाथि थिचोमिचो गर्न तिनीहरूले नाइकेहरू खटाए । इस्राएलीहरूले पिताम र रामसेस नामक भण्डारका सहरहरू बनाए ।
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 तर जति मिश्रीहरूले इस्राएलीहरूमाथि थिचोमिचो गरे त्यति नै तिनीहरूको सङ्ख्या बढ्दै गएर तिनीहरू फैलन थाले । त्यसैले मिश्रीहरू इस्राएलीहरूसित डराउन थाले ।
But the more the Israelites were mistreated, the more they grew in numbers and spread out—and the more the Egyptians detested them.
13 मिश्रीहरूले इस्राएलीहरूलाई निर्दयतापूर्वक काममा लगाए ।
The Egyptians worked the Israelites brutally,
14 मिश्रीहरूले मसला र इँटको कामसाथै खेतका कठिन कामहरू गर्न लगाएर तिनीहरूका जीवनै खल्लो बनाइदिए । तिनीहरूले लगाएका कामहरू कठिन थिए ।
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 तब मिश्रका राजाले शिप्रा र पूआ नाम गरेका हिब्रू सुँडिनीहरूलाई भने,
Then the king gave orders to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah.
16 “हिब्रू स्‍त्रीहरूले बच्‍चा जन्माउने बेलामा तिमीहरूले तिनीहरूको हेरचाह गर्दा अवलोकन गर । छोरो रहेछ भने तिमीहरूले त्यसलाई मार ।
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 तर छोरी रहेछ भने त्यसलाई जीवितै राख ।” तर सुँडिनीहरू परेमश्‍वरदेखि डराउँथे । त्यसैले तिनीहरूले मिश्रका राजाले आज्ञा दिएबमोजिम गरेनन्, बरु तिनीहरूले छोराहरूलाई पनि जीवितै राखे ।
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 मिश्रका राजाले तिनीहरूलाई बोलाएर भने, “तिमीहरूले किन यसो गरेर छोराहरूलाई पनि जीवितै राखेका छ्यौ?”
The king of Egypt called the midwives in and demanded to know, “Why have you done this— letting the male children live?”
19 ती सुँडिनीहरूले फारोलाई जवाफ दिए, “हिब्रू स्‍त्रीहरू मिश्री स्‍त्रीहरूजस्ता छैनन् । तिनीहरू हट्टाकट्टा छन् र सुँडिनी पुग्‍नुभन्दा पहिले नै तिनीहरूले बच्‍चा जन्माइसकेका हुन्छन् ।
“Hebrew women aren't like Egyptian women,” the midwives told Pharaoh. “They give birth more easily—they have them before we midwives arrive.”
20 परमेश्‍वरले यी सुँडिनीहरूलाई जोगाउनुभयो । इस्राएलीहरू सङ्ख्यामा बढ्दै गए र तिनीहरू शक्तिशाली भए ।
God treated the midwives well, and the people increased in number so there were even more of them.
21 सुँडिनीहरू परमेश्‍वरदेखि डराएकाले उहाँले तिनीहरूलाई परिवार दिनुभयो ।
Because the midwives revered God, he gave them families of their own.
22 फारोले आफ्ना सबै मानिसलाई आज्ञा दिए, “जन्मेको हरेक छोरोलाई तिमीहरूले नदीमा फ्याँक्‍नू, तर छोरीलाई भने जीवितै राख्‍नू ।”
Then Pharaoh issued this order to all his people: “Throw every Hebrew boy that's born into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

< प्रस्थान 1 >