Exodus 1:16-22

16“When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”

17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”

20So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous. 21And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.

22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews1 you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”