Exodus 1

₁Here are the names of Jacob's sons who went with him to Egypt. Each son's family came with him. They were ₂Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, ₃Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin, ₄Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ₅Jacob had 70 descendants who went with him to Egypt. Joseph was already in Egypt when they left to go there.

₆After many years Joseph and his brothers, who had come from Canaan, died. ₇The Israelites were fertile and the number of their people became more and more. There were so many of them that the land was filled with Israelites. ₈A new king started to rule Egypt and he did not know Joseph. ₉He said to the people of Egypt: ‘There are more Israelites now and they are stronger than we are. ₁₀When our enemies come to fight and start a war_against us, then the Israelites might also want to fight against us and they will take our land. We have to make a plan so that they can not become more than we are.’

₁₁Then the Egyptians decided to make the Israelites work as slaves. There were managers who had to see that the Israelites worked very hard. They oppressed the Israelites and told them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses, where the king could store food and other things. ₁₂The Egyptians oppressed the Israelites but that did not stop the number of the Israelites from becoming more and more. The Egyptians became afraid of the Israelites and started hating them. ₁₃They made the Israelites work harder and they did not feel sorry for them. ₁₄They made the Israelites work so hard that they suffered a lot. The Egyptians were cruel to the Israelites. They told them to make bricks, mix clay and work in the fields. They had to work as slaves and the Egyptians were not sorry for them. ₁₅The king of Egypt talked to the Hebrew midwives. Their names were Shiphrah and Puah. ₁₆The king told them: ‘When you help the Hebrew women who are having babies and you see it is a boy, then you must kill him. But when it is a girl, she may live.’

₁₇The midwives feared God and they did not do what the king of Egypt told them to do. They let all the boys live. ₁₈Then the king of Egypt called the midwives and asked them: ‘Why don't you do what I told you to do? Why don't you kill the boys?’

₁₉The midwives answered Pharaoh and said: ‘The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. The Hebrew women are strong. When the midwife comes to them, the baby is already born.’ _20-21God was good to the 2 midwives. He gave them children because they listened to Him. The number of Israelites became more and more and they became a strong nation. ₂₂Then Pharaoh told his people: ‘You must throw every Hebrew boy who is born into the Nile River, but the girls may live.’