Exodus 1:15-22

International Children’s Bible

¹⁵ There were two Hebrew nurses named Shiphrah and Puah. These nurses helped the Israelite women give birth to their babies. The king of Egypt said to the nurses, ¹⁶ “When you are helping the Hebrew women give birth to their babies, watch! If the baby is a girl, let the baby live. But if it is a boy, kill it!” ¹⁷ But the nurses feared God. So they did not do as the king told them. They let all the boy babies live. ¹⁸ Then the king of Egypt sent for the nurses. He said, “Why did you do this? Why did you let the boys live?”

¹⁹ The nurses said to him, “The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can get there.” ²⁰ God was good to the nurses. And the Hebrew people continued to grow in number. So they became even stronger. ²¹ Because the nurses feared God, he gave them families of their own.

²² So the king commanded all his people: “Every time a boy is born to the Hebrews, you must throw him into the Nile River. But let all the girl babies live.”