Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Print Page Options
Close NABRE

Exodus 1:15-2:4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Command to the Midwives. 15 The king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you act as midwives for the Hebrew women, look on the birthstool:[a] if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she may live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt had ordered them, but let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this, allowing the boys to live?” 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are robust and give birth before the midwife arrives.” 20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and grew very numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, God built up families for them. 22 Pharaoh then commanded all his people, “Throw into the Nile every boy that is born,(A) but you may let all the girls live.”

Chapter 2

Birth and Adoption of Moses. 1 Now a man[b] of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,(B) 2 and the woman conceived and bore a son. Seeing what a fine child he was, she hid him for three months.(C) 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket,[c] daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.

Footnotes

  1. 1:16 Birthstool: apparently a pair of stones on which the mother is seated for childbirth opposite the midwife. The Hebrew word elsewhere is used to refer to the stones of a potter’s wheel.
  2. 2:1 Now a man: the chapter begins abruptly, without names for the man or woman (in contrast to the midwives of 1:15), who in 6:20 are identified as Amram and Jochebed.
  3. 2:3 Basket: the same Hebrew word is used in Gn 6:14 and throughout the flood narrative for Noah’s ark, but nowhere else in the Bible. Here, however, the “ark” or “chest” was made of papyrus stalks. Presumably the allusion to Genesis is intentional. Just as Noah and his family were preserved safe from the threatening waters of the flood in the ark he built, so now Moses is preserved from the threatening waters of the Nile in the ark prepared by his mother. Among the reeds: the Hebrew noun for “reed” is overwhelmingly used in the phrase “Reed Sea,” traditionally translated “Red Sea.”
Close NRSVCE

Exodus 1:15-2:4
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

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 boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. 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. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every boy that is born to the Hebrews[a] you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.”

Birth and Youth of Moses

2 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4 His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 1:22 Sam Gk Tg: Heb lacks to the Hebrews
Close CEB

Exodus 1:15-2:4
Common English Bible

15 The king of Egypt spoke to two Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah: 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women give birth and you see the baby being born, if it’s a boy, kill him. But if it’s a girl, you can let her live.” 17 Now the two midwives respected God so they didn’t obey the Egyptian king’s order. Instead, they let the baby boys live.

18 So the king of Egypt called the two midwives and said to them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the baby boys live?”

19 The two midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because Hebrew women aren’t like Egyptian women. They’re much stronger and give birth before any midwives can get to them.” 20 So God treated the midwives well, and the people kept on multiplying and became very strong. 21 And because the midwives respected God, God gave them households of their own.

22 Then Pharaoh gave an order to all his people: “Throw every baby boy born to the Hebrews into the Nile River, but you can let all the girls live.”

Moses’ birth

2 Now a man from Levi’s household married a Levite woman. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that the baby was healthy and beautiful, so she hid him for three months. 3 When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a reed basket and sealed it up with black tar. She put the child in the basket and set the basket among the reeds at the riverbank. 4 The baby’s older sister stood watch nearby to see what would happen to him.

Listen to Exodus 1:15-2:4
Close NASB

Exodus 1:15-2:4
New American Standard Bible

15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom [a]was named Shiphrah, and the other [b]was named Puah; 16 and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, (A)if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17 But the midwives [c](B)feared God, and (C)did not do as the king of Egypt had [d]commanded them, but let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys 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 [e]can get to them.” 20 So (D)God was good to the midwives, and (E)the people multiplied, and became very [f]mighty. 21 And because the midwives [g](F)feared God, He [h](G)established [i]households for them. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “(H)Every son who is born, [j]you are to throw into (I)the Nile, but every daughter, you are to keep alive.”

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man from (J)the house of Levi went and [k]married a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw [l]that he was [m](K)beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a (L)papyrus [n]basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child in it and set it among the (M)reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 (N)And his sister stood at a distance to [o]find out what would [p]happen to him.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 1:15 Lit the name was
  2. Exodus 1:15 Lit the name was
  3. Exodus 1:17 Or revered
  4. Exodus 1:17 Lit spoken to
  5. Exodus 1:19 Lit comes to
  6. Exodus 1:20 Or numerous
  7. Exodus 1:21 Or revered
  8. Exodus 1:21 Lit made
  9. Exodus 1:21 Or families
  10. Exodus 1:22 Some ancient versions insert to the Hebrews
  11. Exodus 2:1 Lit took
  12. Exodus 2:2 Lit him that
  13. Exodus 2:2 Lit good
  14. Exodus 2:3 Or chest
  15. Exodus 2:4 Lit know
  16. Exodus 2:4 Lit be done
Listen to Exodus 1:15-2:4
Close NIV

Exodus 1:15-2:4
New International Version

15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives,(A) whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”(B) 17 The midwives, however, feared(C) God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;(D) they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”(E)

20 So God was kind to the midwives(F) and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared(G) God, he gave them families(H) of their own.

22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile,(I) but let every girl live.”(J)

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi(K) married a Levite woman,(L) 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine(M) child, she hid him for three months.(N) 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus(O) basket[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch.(P) Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds(Q) along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister(R) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 2:3 The Hebrew can also mean ark, as in Gen. 6:14.
Next
Genesis 50
Exodus 3
Next
dropdown
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV