| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: | 1These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: |
| 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, | 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; |
| 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, | 3Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; |
| 4Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. | 4Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. |
| 5All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. | 5The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt. |
| 6Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. | 6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, |
| 7But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. | 7but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them. |
| 8Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. | 8Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. |
| 9And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. | 9"Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. |
| 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” | 10Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." |
| 11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. | 11So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. |
| 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. | 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites |
| 13So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves | 13and worked them ruthlessly. |
| 14and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. | 14They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. |
| 15Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, | 15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, |
| 16“When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” | 16"When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." |
| 17But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. | 17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. |
| 18So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” | 18Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" |
| 19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” | 19The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." |
| 20So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. | 20So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. |
| 21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. | 21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. |
| 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” | 22Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live." |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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