¹⁷ But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.^{(A) 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.”