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¹ Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob):² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,⁴ Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.⁵ And Joseph was in Egypt. And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy-five souls.⁶ And Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.⁷ And the sons of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who didn't know Joseph.⁹ And he said to his people, Look, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we:¹⁰ come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply, and it will come to pass, that, when war breaks out, they will also join themselves to our enemies, and fight against us, and get up out of the land.¹¹ Therefore they set over them slave masters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses.¹² But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they were grieved because of the sons of Israel.¹³ And the Egyptians made the sons of Israel to serve with rigor:¹⁴ and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in bricks, and in all manner of service in the field, all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.

¹⁵ And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:¹⁶ and he said, When you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth-stool; if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.¹⁷ But the midwives feared God, and didn't do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive.¹⁸ And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, Why have you done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive?¹⁹ And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered before the midwife comes to them.²⁰ And God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.²¹ And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them households.²² And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.