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
Holman 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 70;[b](B) Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 Then Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation 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 had not known 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 Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may 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 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver.[d] If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.” 17 The Hebrew 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 a 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[e] into the Nile, but let every daughter live.”(P)
Footnotes
- Exodus 1:5 Lit of people issuing from Jacob’s loins
- Exodus 1:5 LXX, DSS read 75; Gn 46:27; Ac 7:14
- Exodus 1:12 Or Egyptians loathed
- Exodus 1:16 Lit birth, look at the stones
- Exodus 1:22 Sam, LXX, Tg; MT omits to the Hebrews
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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