Exodus 1
Christian Standard Bible
Israel Oppressed in Egypt
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his family:(A)
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
5 The total number of Jacob’s descendants[a] was seventy;[b](B) Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation eventually died.(C) 7 But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous(D) so that the land was filled with them.
8 A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are.(E) 10 Come, let’s deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and when war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”(F) 11 So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor.(G) They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities(H) for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread[c] the Israelites. 13 They worked the Israelites ruthlessly(I) 14 and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.(J)
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives—the first, whose name was Shiphrah, and the second, whose name was Puah— 16 “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God(K) and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them;(L) they let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?”
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”(M)
20 So God was good to the midwives,(N) and the people multiplied and became very numerous. 21 Since the midwives feared God, he gave them families.(O) 22 Pharaoh then commanded all his people, “You must throw every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live.”(P)
Exodus 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household:(A) 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 The total number of people born to Jacob was seventy. (Joseph was already in Egypt.)(B) 6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and that whole generation.(C) 7 But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.(D)
The Israelites Are Oppressed
8 Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.(E) 9 He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we.(F) 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.(G) 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13 The Egyptians subjected the Israelites to hard servitude 14 and made their lives bitter with hard servitude in mortar and bricks and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.(H)
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”(I) 17 But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.(J) 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and allowed the boys to 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 So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong.(K) 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.(L) 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews[a] you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”(M)
Footnotes
- 1.22 Sam Gk Tg: Heb lacks to the Hebrews
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.