Exodus 1:1-10

Good News Translation

The Israelites Are Treated Cruelly in Egypt

1 ^(A)The sons of Jacob who went to Egypt with him, each with his family, were ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, ³ Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, ⁴ Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ⁵ The total number of these people directly descended from Jacob was seventy.^[a] His son Joseph was already in Egypt. ⁶ In the course of time Joseph, his brothers, and all the rest of that generation died, ^7 (B)but their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and became so numerous and strong that Egypt was filled with them.

^8 (C)Then, a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. ⁹ He said to his people, “These Israelites are so numerous and strong that they are a threat to us. ^10 (D)In case of war they might join our enemies in order to fight against us, and might escape from^[b] the country. We must find some way to keep them from becoming even more numerous.”