Exodus 1

Israel Oppressed

1Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, # Ge 35:23–26; 46:8–26 which came into Egypt (each man and his household came with Jacob): 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5All the people who came from the seed of Jacob were seventy people, # Ge 46:26–27; Dt 10:22 but Joseph was in Egypt already.

6Joseph died, # Ge 50:26 as did all his brothers, and all that generation. 7Nevertheless, the sons of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, # Ge 46:3; Dt 26:5 and became exceedingly mighty, # 1:7 Or numerous; also in v. 20. so that the land was filled with them.

8Now there rose up a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. # Ac 7:18 9And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more numerous and powerful than we. # Ps 105:24–25 10Come, let us deal wisely with them, # Ps 83:3–4 lest they multiply, and it come to pass that when any war breaks out, they also join our enemies, and fight against us, and escape from the land.” # Ac 7:19

11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their labor. # Ge 15:13 They built for Pharaoh storage cities: Pithom and Rameses. # Ge 47:11 12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew so that as a result they abhorred the sons of Israel. 13The Egyptians made the Israelites to serve with rigor, 14and they made their lives bitter with hard service—in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. In all their service they made them serve with rigor. # Ex 2:23; 6:9

15The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah, 16and he said, “When you perform the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the stools, if it is a son, then you must kill him, # Mt 2:16 but if it is a daughter, then she may live.” 17However, the midwives feared God, # Pr 16:6 and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, # Da 3:16–18; Ac 5:29 but kept the male children alive. 18The king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing and preserved the male children’s lives?”

19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives come to them.”

20Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, # Pr 11:18 and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. # Ex 1:12 21So it happened that because the midwives feared God, He gave them families. # 1Sa 2:35; 1Ki 11:38

22Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, “You must cast every son that is born into the river, and you must preserve every daughter’s life.” # Ac 7:19

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Exodus 1: MEV

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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version

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Exodus 1

CHAPTER 1

1These be the names of the sons of Israel, that entered into Egypt with Jacob; all entered with their households;

2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,

3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,

4Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

5Therefore all the souls of them that went out of the hip of Jacob were seventy and five. Forsooth Joseph was in Egypt;

6and when he was dead, and all his brethren, and all his kindred,

7the sons of Israel#1:7 The phrase ‘sons of Israel’ at times refers to the twelve sons of Jacob (whose name God changed to ‘Israel’), at times to only the Israelite men, and other times to all of the people of Israel, the twelve tribes of Israel, ‘the Israelites’. increased, and were multiplied as burgeoning, and they were made strong greatly, and filled the land.

8A new king, that knew not Joseph, rose [up] in the meantime on Egypt,

9and said to his people, Lo! the people of the sons of Israel is much, and stronger than we;

10come ye, wisely oppress we it, lest peradventure it be multiplied; and lest, if battle riseth against us, it be added to our enemies, and go out of the land, when we be overcome.

11And so he made masters of works sovereigns to them, that they should torment them with charges. And they made [the] cities of tabernacles, either of treasures, as it is in Hebrew, to Pharaoh, Pithom, and Raamses.

12And by how much they oppressed them, by so much they were multiplied, and increased the more.

13And the Egyptians hated the sons of Israel, and tormented, and scorned them;

14and they brought their life to bitterness, by hard works of clay and of tilestone, and by all servage, by which they were oppressed in the works of [the] earth.

15Forsooth the king of Egypt said to the midwives of Hebrews, of which one was called Shiphrah, [and] the tother Puah;

16and he commanded to them, When ye shall do the office of midwives to [the] Hebrew women, and the time of child-bearing shall come, if it is a knave child, slay ye him; if it is a woman child, keep ye it.

17But the midwives dreaded God, and did not by the commandment of the king of Egypt, but kept the knave children.

18To the which called to him, the king said, What is this thing that ye would do, that ye would keep the knave children?

19The which answered, Hebrew women be not as the women of Egypt, for they have knowing of the craft of midwifing, and childed before that we come to them.

20Therefore God did well to the midwives; and the people increased, and was comforted greatly.

21And for the midwives dreaded God, God builded them houses.

22Therefore Pharaoh commanded all his people, and said, Whatever thing of male kind is born to Hebrews, cast ye into the flood; whatever thing of women kind, keep ye.

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