New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible

The Israelites in Egypt

These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family:

1

Israel Multiplies in Egypt

Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household:

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Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,

2

Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah;

3

Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,

3

Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin;

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Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

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Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

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In all, Jacob had seventya descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there.

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All the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt.

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In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation.

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Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.

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But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.

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But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.

8

Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.

8

Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

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He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are.

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He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.

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We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.b”

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“Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.”

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So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.

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So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.

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But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.

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But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.

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So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.

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The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;

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They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.

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and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.

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Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah:

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Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;

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“When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver.c If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”

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and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”

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But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.

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But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.

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So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. “Why have you done this?” he demanded. “Why have you allowed the boys to live?”

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So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”

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“The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.”

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The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”

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So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful.

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So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.

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And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

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Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.

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Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”

22

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”

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New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible

Exodus 1

Exodus 1