Exodus 1
Living Bible
1 1-4 This is the list of the sons of Jacob who accompanied him to Egypt, with their families: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher.
5 So the total number who went with him was seventy (for Joseph was already there). 6 In due season Joseph and each of his brothers died, ending that generation. 7 Meanwhile, their descendants were very fertile, increasing rapidly in numbers; there was a veritable population explosion so that they soon became a large nation, and they filled the land of Goshen.
8 Then, eventually, a new king came[a] to the throne of Egypt who felt no obligation to the descendants of Joseph.
9 He told his people, “These Israelis are becoming dangerous to us because there are so many of them. 10 Let’s figure out a way to put an end to this. If we don’t, and war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us and escape out of the country.”
11 So the Egyptians made slaves of them and put brutal taskmasters over them to wear them down under heavy burdens while building the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. 12 But the more the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed them, the more the Israelis seemed to multiply! The Egyptians became alarmed 13-14 and made the Hebrew slavery more bitter still, forcing them to toil long and hard in the fields and to carry heavy loads of mortar and brick.
15-16 Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, instructed the Hebrew midwives (their names were Shiphrah and Puah) to kill all Hebrew boys as soon as they were born, but to let the girls live. 17 But the midwives feared God and didn’t obey the king—they let the boys live too.
18 The king summoned them before him and demanded, “Why have you disobeyed my command and let the baby boys live?”
19 “Sir,” they told him, “the Hebrew women have their babies so quickly that we can’t get there in time! They are not slow like the Egyptian women!”
20 And God blessed the midwives because they were God-fearing women.[b] So the people of Israel continued to multiply and to become a mighty nation. 21 And because the midwives revered God, he gave them children of their own. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all of his people to throw the newborn Hebrew boys into the Nile River. But the girls, he said, could live.
Footnotes
- Exodus 1:8 eventually, a new king came, implied. This incident occurred about four hundred years after Joseph’s death. who felt no obligation to the descendants of Joseph, literally, “who did not know Joseph.”
- Exodus 1:20 because they were God-fearing women, implied from v. 21.
Exodus 1
King James Version
1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
Exodus 1
English Standard Version
Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt
1 (A)These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were (B)seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then (C)Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 (D)But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
Pharaoh Oppresses Israel
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, (E)who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, (F)the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 (G)Come, (H)let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them (I)to afflict them with heavy (J)burdens. They built for Pharaoh (K)store cities, Pithom and (L)Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel (M)work as slaves 14 and (N)made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives (O)feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 (P)So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, (Q)he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, (R)“Every son that is born to the Hebrews[a] you shall cast into (S)the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 1:22 Samaritan, Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew lacks to the Hebrews
Exodus 1
The Voice
1 These are the names of Israel’s sons—the ones who traveled from Canaan and entered into Egypt with Jacob during the great famine. Each of these men arrived in Egypt with his family:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5 At that time, Jacob had 70 children and grandchildren. All of them came to Egypt, except for Joseph; he was already there.[a] 6 Joseph died, and so did all of his brothers. It was not long before that entire generation was gone. 7 But the people of Israel were prolific; they had children easily, and their numbers increased rapidly. As their numbers grew so did their strength. Eventually, they filled the land.
God has done what He promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: He has made Israel’s children fertile, productive, and strong. Over time Jacob’s 70 children have become a nation within a nation, and the Egyptians are taking notice. History teaches the Pharaohs and the ruling classes to be wary of outsiders. So now that the Israelites are swarming all over the land like flies, and they are not fully assimilating into Egyptian life and culture, the Pharaoh thinks they pose a clear and present danger. So the Egyptian king decides that strong measures are necessary. The welcome that Joseph and his family once enjoyed turns into outright hostility.
8 One day, a new king came to power and ruled over Egypt, but this king had no knowledge of Joseph.
Pharaoh (to some of his advisors): 9 Look! There are more Israelites than ever before, and they are growing more powerful than we are. 10 We need to be careful in our dealings with them. Otherwise, they may grow even greater in number, and in a time of war join forces with our enemies, fight against us, and then leave the land.
11 So the Egyptian authorities enslaved the Israelites and appointed cruel slave drivers over them to oppress them with hard, back-breaking labor. They forced them to build the storage cities of Pithom and Raamses for Pharaoh.
12 But the harder the slave drivers pushed the Israelites, the more rapidly they had children and spread throughout the land. Because of this, the Egyptians grew to detest the Israelites even more 13 and violently forced them to work until they were sore and tired—far beyond exhaustion. 14 The Egyptians made life bitter for all those Israelites forced to mix mortar, make bricks, and do all types of grueling work in the fields. They tormented their Israelite slaves until all the work was done.
15 Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, called for some of the Hebrew midwives. Their names were Shiphrah and Puah.
Pharaoh: 16 Listen closely. Whenever you are looking after a Hebrew woman who is in labor and ready to deliver, if she gives birth to a son, then kill the baby. If it is a daughter, then allow her to live.
17 But the midwives respected God more than they feared Pharaoh, so they did not carry out the Egyptian king’s command. Instead, they let all the boys live. 18 When Egypt’s king heard this news, he sent for the midwives.
Pharaoh: Why have you disobeyed my orders and allowed the boys to live?
Midwives: 19 Because unlike Egyptian women, Hebrew women are hearty and energetic, and they give birth before the midwife arrives to help.
20 God was good to the midwives, and under their care the Israelite women had many more children. Despite Pharaoh’s orders, the people of Israel became stronger and more powerful. 21 Because the midwives respected God, He blessed them with families of their own. 22 In response to the rapid growth in the Hebrew population, Pharaoh issued a command to his people.
Pharaoh: Every boy who is born to the Hebrews must be thrown into the Nile, and every girl is to be left alive.
Footnotes
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.