New American Standard Bible 1995

Exodus 1:9-22

9 1He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are 2more and mightier than we. 10Come, let us 3deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and 4in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and 5depart from the land.” 11So they appointed 6taskmasters over them to afflict them with 7 8hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh 9storage cities, Pithom and 10Raamses. 12But the more they afflicted them, 11the more they multiplied and the more they 12spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel. 13The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel 13to labor rigorously; 14and they made 14their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously 15imposed on them.

15Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom 16was named Shiphrah and the other 17was named Puah; 16and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, 18if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17But the midwives 19 20feared God, and 21did not do as the king of Egypt had 22commanded them, but let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?” 19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife 23can get to them.” 20So 24God was good to the midwives, and 25the people multiplied, and became very 26mighty. 21Because the midwives 27 28feared God, He 29 30established 31households for them. 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “32Every son who is born 33you are to cast into 34the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”

Read all of Exodus 1

Notes

1. Exodus 1:9 Ps 105:24, 25 ↩
2. Exodus 1:9 Or too many and too mighty for us ↩
3. Exodus 1:10 Acts 7:19 ↩
4. Exodus 1:10 Lit it came about when war befalls that ↩
5. Exodus 1:10 Lit go up from ↩
6. Exodus 1:11 Gen 15:13; Ex 3:7; 5:6 ↩
7. Exodus 1:11 Lit their burdens ↩
8. Exodus 1:11 Ex 1:14; 2:11; 5:4-9; 6:6f ↩
9. Exodus 1:11 1 Kin 9:19; 2 Chr 8:4 ↩
10. Exodus 1:11 Gen 47:11 ↩
11. Exodus 1:12 Ex 1:7 ↩
12. Exodus 1:12 Lit broke forth ↩
13. Exodus 1:13 Gen 15:13; Deut 4:20 ↩
14. Exodus 1:14 Ex 2:23; 6:9; Num 20:15; Acts 7:19 ↩
15. Exodus 1:14 Lit worked through them ↩
16. Exodus 1:15 Lit the name was ↩
17. Exodus 1:15 Lit the name was ↩
18. Exodus 1:16 Acts 7:19 ↩
19. Exodus 1:17 Or revered ↩
20. Exodus 1:17 Ex 1:21; Prov 16:6 ↩
21. Exodus 1:17 Acts 4:18-20; 5:29 ↩
22. Exodus 1:17 Lit spoken to ↩
23. Exodus 1:19 Lit comes to ↩
24. Exodus 1:20 Prov 11:18; Eccl 8:12; Heb 6:10 ↩
25. Exodus 1:20 Ex 1:12; Is 3:10 ↩
26. Exodus 1:20 Or numerous ↩
27. Exodus 1:21 Or revered ↩
28. Exodus 1:21 Ex 1:17 ↩
29. Exodus 1:21 Lit made ↩
30. Exodus 1:21 1 Sam 2:35; 2 Sam 7:11, 27; 1 Kin 2:24; 11:38 ↩
31. Exodus 1:21 Or families ↩
32. Exodus 1:22 Acts 7:19 ↩
33. Exodus 1:22 Some versions insert to the Hebrews ↩
34. Exodus 1:22 Gen 41:1 ↩

Notes

Commentaries on Exodus 1