Chapter 1
1 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel , who came into Egypt ( every man and his household came with Jacob ):
2 Reuben , Simeon , Levi , and Judah ,
3 Issachar , Zebulun , and Benjamin ,
4 Dan and Naphtali , Gad and Asher.
5 All the souls who came out of Jacob ’s body were seventy souls , and Joseph was in Egypt already.
6 Joseph died , as did all his brothers, and all that generation .
7 The children of Israel were fruitful , and increased abundantly , and multiplied , and grew exceedingly mighty ; and the land was filled with them .
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt , who didn’t know Joseph .
9 He said to his people , " Behold , ", means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection. the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we .
10 Come , let ’s deal wisely with them , lest they multiply , and it happen that when any war breaks out , they also join themselves to our enemies and fight against us , and escape out of the land."
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens . They built storage cities for Pharaoh : Pithom and Raamses .
12 But the more they afflicted them , the more they multiplied and the more they spread out . They started to dread the children of Israel .
13 The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve ,
14 and they made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick , and in all kinds of service in the field , all their service , in which they ruthlessly made them serve .
15 The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives , of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah , and the name of the other Puah ,
16 and he said, " When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women , and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son , then you shall kill him ; but if it is a daughter , then she shall live ."
17 But the midwives feared God , " (Elohim). and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them , but saved the baby boys alive .
18 The king of Egypt called for the midwives , and said to them , " Why have you done this thing and saved the boys alive ?"
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh , " Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women ; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them ."
20 God dealt well with the midwives , and the people multiplied , and grew very mighty .
21 Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families .
22 Pharaoh commanded all his people , saying, " You shall cast every son who is born into the river , and every daughter you shall save alive ."