EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Exodus 1:21
21Because the two women obeyed God, he gave them families of their own.
Exodus 1:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
- New International Version (NIV)And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.
Context of Exodus 1:21
19The two women said to Pharaoh, ‘Israelite women are not like Egyptian women. Israelite women are very strong. They give birth to their babies very quickly, before we arrive at the house.’ 20Because the two women respected God, he was kind to them. The Israelite people continued to grow in number. They became very strong. Because the two women obeyed God, he gave them families of their own. 22Then Pharaoh spoke to all the Egyptian people. He said, ‘When an Israelite boy is born, you must throw him in the river Nile. But you can let the baby girls live.’
Read all of Exodus 1Exodus 1:21 word by word
וַיְהִ֕י כִּֽי־יָֽרְא֥וּ הַֽמְיַלְּדֹ֖ת אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיַּ֥עַשׂ לָהֶ֖ם בָּתִּֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 1:21
- 1 Samuel 2:35I will choose another priest to serve me. He will be faithful. He will do everything that I want him to do. I will give him a strong family and he will serve my chosen king for ever.
- 1 Samuel 25:28I am your servant. Please forgive me for any sin. I know that the Lord will always choose someone from your family to be Israel's king. The Lord will do that because you fight battles on his behalf. I pray that you will not do any evil thing in your whole life.
- 2 Samuel 7:11from the time that I chose leaders to rule my people Israel. But now I will keep you safe from all your enemies. I, the Lord, say to you, David: I will give you descendants who will rule as kings after you. That will be the royal house that I build for you!
- 1 Kings 2:24As surely as the Lord lives, Adonijah must die today. The Lord has done everything that he promised to me. He has made me strong so that now I rule on the throne of my father David. And my descendants will continue to rule as kings after me.’
- 1 Kings 11:38But you must do everything that I command you to do. You must live in a way that pleases me. You must do the things that I say are right. You must obey my rules and my commands, as my servant David did. If you do that, I will always be with you. I will cause your descendants to continue to rule Israel. What I have done for David's family, I will also do for your family. The nation of Israel will belong to you.
- Psalms 37:3Trust in the Lord and do good things. Then you will live safely in the land.
- Psalms 127:1The Lord must build your house. If not, the work of the builders is useless. The Lord must keep the city safe. If not, the city guards are useless.
- Proverbs 24:320. It is wisdom that helps a man to build a house. The house will have a strong foundation if he understands what is right.
- Ecclesiastes 8:12People who do lots of wicked things may live for a long time. But if someone respects and obeys God, they will surely enjoy a good life.
- Jeremiah 35:2He said, ‘Go to the place where Rekab's descendants live. Ask them to come to the Lord's temple. Take them into one of the temple's small rooms. Give to them some wine to drink.’
Commentaries on Exodus 1:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21He made them houses - Dr. Shuckford thinks that there is something wrong both in the punctuation and translation of this place, and reads the passage thus, adding the 21st to the 20th verse: "And they multiplied and waxed mighty; and this happened (ויהי vayehi ) because the midwives feared God; and he (Pharaoh) made (להם lahem, masc.). them (the Israelites) houses; and commanded all his people, saying, Every son that is born, etc." The doctor supposes…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Made them houses - i. e. they married Hebrews and became mothers in Israel. The expression is proverbial. See the margin reference.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-22Verses 15-22 The Egyptians tried to destroy Israel by the murder of their children. The enmity that is in the seed of the serpent, against the Seed of the woman, makes men forget all pity. It is plain that the Hebrews were now under an uncommon blessing. And we see that the services done for God's Israel are often repaid in kind. Pharaoh gave orders to drown all the male children of the Hebrews. The enemy who, by Pharaoh, attempted to destroy the church…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21He gave them families: For most of history, children have had the worthy goal of growing up to raise a family. God graciously granted the universal wish of these women who served him courageously and faithfully.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2120-21. God dealt well with the midwives--This represents God as rewarding them for telling a lie. This difficulty is wholly removed by a more correct translation. To "make" or "build up a house" in Hebrew idiom, means to have a numerous progeny. The passage then should be rendered thus: "God protected the midwives, and the people waxed very mighty; and because the midwives feared, the Hebrews grew and prospered."Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 1:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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