Exodus 1
Israel’s Suffering in Egypt
Now athese are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 All those who were descendants of Jacob were aseventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). 6 And aJoseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. 7 aBut the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, awho did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and amightier than we; 10 acome, let us bdeal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them ato afflict them with their bburdens. And they built for Pharaoh csupply cities, Pithom dand Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel aserve with rigor. 14 And they amade their lives bitter with hard bondage—bin mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the aHebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; 16 and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a ason, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17 But the midwives afeared God, and did not do bas the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”
19 And athe midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”
20 aTherefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. 21 And so it was, because the midwives feared God, athat He provided households for them.
22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, a“Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
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