Exodus 1:17-19

17But the midwives feared God [with profound reverence] and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded, but they let the boy babies live.

18So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and allowed the boy babies to live?”

19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth quickly and their babies are born before the midwife can get to them.”