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Trouble for the People of Israel

Then a new king ·began to rule [L rose over] Egypt, who did not know who Joseph was [C identification uncertain; may refer to Ahmose in 16th century bc]. ·This king [L He] said to his people, “Look! The people of Israel are too many and ·too strong for us to handle [L stronger than us]! 10 If we don’t ·make plans against [deal wisely/shrewdly with] them, the number of their people will grow even more. Then if there is a war, they might join ·our enemies [L those who hate us] and fight us and ·escape [L go up] from the country!”

11 So ·the Egyptians made life hard for the Israelites [L they afflicted/oppressed them with hard labor]. They put slave masters over them, who forced the Israelites to build the cities Pithom and Rameses as ·supply centers [storage cities] for ·the king [L Pharaoh]. 12 But the harder ·the Egyptians forced the Israelites to work [L they afflicted/oppressed them], the more ·the Israelites grew in number [they multiplied] and spread out. So ·the Egyptians became very afraid of them [L they dreaded the sons/T children of Israel] 13 and ·demanded even more of them [L the Egyptians ruthlessly forced the sons/T children of Israel to labor]. 14 They made their lives ·bitter [miserable]. They forced the Israelites to work hard to make bricks and mortar and to do all kinds of work in the fields. ·The Egyptians were not merciful to them in all their painful work [L They ruthlessly forced them to work].

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Now a new (A)king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And (B)he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are [a]too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us (C)deal [b]shrewdly with them, otherwise they will multiply, and [c]in the event of war, they will also join those who hate us, and fight against us and [d]depart from the land.” 11 So they appointed (D)taskmasters over them to oppress them with [e](E)hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh (F)storage cities, Pithom and (G)Raamses. 12 But the more they oppressed them, (H)the more they multiplied and the more they [f]spread out, so that they dreaded the sons of Israel. 13 The Egyptians [g]used violence to compel the sons of Israel (I)to labor; 14 and they made (J)their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they violently had them perform as slaves.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 1:9 Or more and mightier than we
  2. Exodus 1:10 Or wisely
  3. Exodus 1:10 Lit it will come about when war occurs that
  4. Exodus 1:10 Lit go up from
  5. Exodus 1:11 Lit their burdens
  6. Exodus 1:12 Lit broke forth
  7. Exodus 1:13 Lit with violence compelled