Exodus 1:22

22 So Pharaoh issued a general order to all his people: "Every boy that is born, drown him in the Nile. But let the girls live."

Exodus 1:22 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 1:22

And Pharaoh charged all his people
Finding he could not carry his point with the midwives, he gave a general order to all his people everywhere:

saying, every son that is born ye shall cast into the river;
the river Nile; not every son born in his kingdom, for this would have ruined it in time; but that was born to the Jews, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; and it is added in the Septuagint version, to the Hebrews:

and every daughter ye shall save alive;
for the reasons given (See Gill on Exodus 1:16).

Exodus 1:22 In-Context

20 God was pleased with the midwives. The people continued to increase in number - a very strong people.
21 And because the midwives honored God, God gave them families of their own.
22 So Pharaoh issued a general order to all his people: "Every boy that is born, drown him in the Nile. But let the girls live."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.