¹⁷ “But as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied^(A)

¹⁷ The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.^(A)

⁶ And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and mistreat them during four hundred years.^(A)

⁸ But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.^{(A) 9} The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,^[a] not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.^(B)

²⁰ So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong.^(A)

⁷ But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.^(A)

The Israelites Are Oppressed

⁸ Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.^{(B) 9} He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we.^{(C) 10} Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh.^{(D) 12} But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.

¹³ Then the Lord^[a] said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years,^{(A) 14} but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.^{(B) 15} As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.^{(C) 16} And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”^(D)