New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household:
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Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt; every man and his family came with Jacob.
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
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Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
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Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
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Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 The total number of people born to Jacob was seventy. Joseph was already in Egypt.
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All the offspring of Jacob were seventy persons: and Joseph had come to Egypt before them.
6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and that whole generation.
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Then Joseph came to his end, and all his brothers, and all that generation.
7 But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
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And the children of Israel were fertile, increasing very greatly in numbers and in power; and the land was full of them.
8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
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Now a new king came to power in Egypt, who had no knowledge of Joseph.
9 He said to his people, "Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we.
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And he said to his people, See, the people of Israel are greater in number and in power than we are:
10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land."
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Let us take care for fear that their numbers may become even greater, and if there is a war, they may be joined with those who are against us, and make an attack on us, and go up out of the land.
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh.
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So they put overseers of forced work over them, in order to make their strength less by the weight of their work. And they made store-towns for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.
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But the more cruel they were to them, the more their number increased, till all the land was full of them. And the children of Israel were hated by the Egyptians.
13 The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites,
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And they gave the children of Israel even harder work to do:
14 and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.
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And made their lives bitter with hard work, making building-material and bricks, and doing all sorts of work in the fields under the hardest conditions.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,
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And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew women who gave help at the time of childbirth (the name of the one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah),
16 "When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live."
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When you are looking after the Hebrew women in childbirth, if it is a son you are to put him to death; but if it is a daughter, she may go on living.
17 But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.
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But the women had the fear of God, and did not do as the king of Egypt said, but let the male children go on living.
18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?"
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And the king of Egypt sent for the women, and said to them, Why have you done this, and let the male children go on living?
19 The 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."
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And they said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are strong, and the birth takes place before we come to them.
20 So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong.
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And the blessing of God was on these women: and the people were increased in number and became very strong.
21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
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And because the women who took care of the Hebrew mothers had the fear of God, he gave them families.
22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live."
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And Pharaoh gave orders to all his people, saying, Every son who comes to birth is to be put into the river, but every daughter may go on living.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.