Exodus 1:13-20

13They worked them harshly,

14and made their lives bitter with hard labor with mortar and brick, doing all sorts of work in the fields. In all their labors they worked them with cruelty.

15Moreover the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,

16and said, “When you help the Hebrew women during childbirth, look at the sex. If it’s a son, then kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.”

17Yet the midwives feared God, so they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the boys live.

18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this—let the boys live?”

19The midwives told Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are like animals, and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

20So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, growing very numerous.