Exodus Chapter 1
King James Version (KJV)
Other Translations
asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM
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 all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: and Joseph was in Egypt already.
6
And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
7
And the children 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 knew not Joseph.
9
And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10
come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.
11
Therefore they did set over them taskmasters 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 children of Israel.
13
And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:
14
and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, 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 spake 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 ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birth-stool; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17
But the midwives feared God, and did not 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 unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive?
19
And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwife come unto 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 ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
And these are the names of the sons of Israel who had come into Egypt; with Jacob had they come, each with his household:
2
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4
Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
5
And all the souls that had come out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls; and Joseph was in Egypt.
6
And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
7
And the children of Israel were fruitful, and swarmed and multiplied, and became exceeding strong; and the land was full of them.
8
And there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9
And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we.
10
Come on, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, if war occur, they take side with our enemies and fight against us, and go up out of the land.
11
And they set over them service-masters to oppress them with their burdens. And they built store-cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Rameses.
12
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread; and they were distressed because of the children of Israel.
13
And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with harshness;
14
and they embittered their life with hard labour in clay and bricks, and in all manner of labour in the field: all their labour with which they made them serve was with harshness.
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 was Puah —
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and he said, When ye help the Hebrew women in bearing, and see [them] on the stool, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him, but if a daughter, then she shall live.
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But the midwives fearedGod, and did not as the king of Egypt had said to them, but saved the male children alive.
18
And the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, Why have ye done this, and saved the male children alive?
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And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian; for they are strong, and they have borne before the midwife comes to them.
20
AndGod dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong.
21
And it came to pass, because the midwives fearedGod, that he made them houses.
22
Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, but every daughter ye shall save alive.
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
1
These are the names of the sons of Israel that came into Egypt together with Jacob their father; they came in each with their whole family.
2
Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judas,
3
Issachar, Zabulon, Benjamin,
4
Dan and Nephthalim, Gad and Aser.
5
But Joseph was in Egypt. And all the souls [born] of Jacob were seventy-five.
6
And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
7
And the children of Israel increased and multiplied, and became numerous and grew exceedingly strong, and the land multiplied them.
8
And there arose up another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.
9
And he said to his nation, Behold, the race of the children of Israel is a great multitude, and is stronger than we:
10
come then, let us deal craftily with them, lest at any time they be increased, and whensoever war shall happen to us, these also shall be added to our enemies, and having prevailed against us in war, they will depart out of the land.
11
And he set over them task-masters, who should afflict them in their works; and they built strong cities for Pharao, both Pitho, and Ramesses, and On, which is Heliopolis.
12
But as they humbled them, by so much they multiplied, and grew exceedingly strong; and the Egyptians greatly abhorred the children of Israel.
13
And the Egyptians tyrannised over the children of Israel by force.
14
And they embittered their life by hard labours, in the clay and in brick-making, and all the works in the plains, according to all the works, wherein they caused them to serve with violence.
15
And the king of the Egyptians spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews; the name of the one was, Sepphora; and the name of the second, Phua.
16
And he said, When ye do the office of midwives to the Hebrew women, and they are about to be delivered, if it be a male, kill it; but if a female, save it.
17
But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt appointed them; and they saved the male children alive.
18
And the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, Why is it that ye have done this thing, and saved the male children alive?
19
And the midwives said to Pharao, The Hebrew women are not as the women of Egypt, for they are delivered before the midwives go in to them. So they bore children.
20
And God did well to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very strong.
21
And as the midwives feared God, they established for themselves families.
22
And Pharao charged all his people, saying, Whatever male [child] shall be born to the Hebrews, cast into the river; and every female, save it alive.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
1
Hæc sunt nomina filiorum Israel qui ingressi sunt in Ægyptum cum Iacob: singuli cum domibus suis introierunt:
2
Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Iudas,
3
Issachar, Zabulon et Beniamin,
4
Dan, et Nephthali, Gad, et Aser.
5
Erant igitur omnes animæ eorum qui egressi sunt de femore Iacob, septuaginta: Ioseph autem in Ægypto erat.
6
Quo mortuo, et universis fratribus eius, omnique cognatione illa,
7
filii Israel creverunt, et quasi germinantes multiplicati sunt: ac roborati nimis, impleverunt terram.
8
Surrexit interea rex novus super Ægyptum, qui ignorabat Ioseph:
9
et ait ad populum suum: Ecce, populus filiorum Israel multus, et fortior nobis est.
10
Venite, sapienter opprimamus eum, ne forte multiplicetur: et si ingruerit contra nos bellum, addatur inimicis nostris, expugnatisque nobis egrediatur de terra.
11
Præposuit itaque eis magistros operum, ut affligerent eos oneribus: ædificaveruntque urbes tabernaculorum Pharaoni, Phithom, et Ramesses.
12
Quantoque opprimebant eos, tanto magis multiplicabantur, et crescebant:
13
oderantque filios Israel Ægyptii, et affligebant illudentes eis:
14
atque ad amaritudinem perducebant vitam eorum operibus duris luti, et lateris, omnique famulatu, quo in terræ operibus premebantur.
15
Dixit autem Rex Ægypti obstetricibus Hebræorum: quarum una vocabatur Sephora, altera Phua,
16
præcipiens eis: Quando obstetricabitis Hebræas, et partus tempus advenerit: si masculus fuerit, interficite eum: si femina, reservate.
17
Timuerunt autem obstetrices Deum, et non fecerunt iuxta præceptum regis Ægypti, sed conservabant mares.
18
Quibus ad se accersitis, rex ait: Quidnam est hoc quod facere voluistis, ut pueros servaretis?
19
Quæ responderunt: Non sunt Hebreæ sicut Ægyptiæ mulieres: ipsæ enim obstetricandi habent scientiam, et priusquam veniamus ad eas, pariunt.
20
Bene ergo fecit Deus obstetricibus: et crevit populus, confortatusque est nimis.
21
Et quia timuerunt obstetrices Deum, ædificavit eis domos.
22
Præcepit ergo Pharao omni populo suo, dicens: Quidquid masculini sexus natum fuerit, in flumen proiicite: quidquid feminini, reservate.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
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
All the souls who came out of Jacob’s body were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt already.
6
Joseph died, as did all his brothers, and all that generation.
7
The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who didn’t know Joseph.
9
He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.
10
Come, let’s deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it happen that when any war breaks out, they also join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and escape out of the land.”
11
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses.
12
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They started to dread the children of Israel.
13
The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve,
14
and they made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve.
15
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 perform the duty 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 what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive.
18
The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing and saved the boys alive?”
19
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
20
God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty.
21
Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
22
Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
1
And these <FI>are<Fi> the names of the sons of Israel who are coming into Egypt with Jacob; a man and his household have they come;
2
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4
Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5
And all the persons coming out of the thigh of Jacob are seventy persons; as to Joseph, he was in Egypt.
6
And Joseph dieth, and all his brethren, and all that generation;
7
and the sons of Israel have been fruitful, and they teem, and multiply, and are very very mighty, and the land is filled with them.
8
And there riseth a new king over Egypt, who hath not known Joseph,
9
and he saith unto his people, `Lo, the people of the sons of Israel <FI>is<Fi> more numerous and mighty than we;
10
give help! let us act wisely concerning it, lest it multiply, and it hath come to pass, when war happeneth, that it hath been joined, even it, unto those hating us, and hath fought against us, and hath gone out up of the land.'
11
And they set over it princes of tribute, so as to afflict it with their burdens, and it buildeth store-cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses;
12
and as they afflict it, so it multiplieth, and so it breaketh forth, and they are vexed because of the sons of Israel;
13
and the Egyptians cause the sons of Israel to serve with rigour,
14
and make their lives bitter in hard service, in clay, and in brick, and in every <FI>kind<Fi> of service in the field; all their service in which they have served <FI>is<Fi> with rigour.
15
And the king of Egypt speaketh to the midwives, the Hebrewesses, (of whom the name of the one <FI>is<Fi> Shiphrah, and the name of the second Puah),
16
and saith, `When ye cause the Hebrew women to bear, and have looked on the children; if it <FI>is<Fi> a son--then ye have put him to death; and if it <FI>is<Fi> a daughter--then she hath lived.'
17
And the midwives fear God, and have not done as the king of Egypt hath spoken unto them, and keep the lads alive;
18
and the king of Egypt calleth for the midwives, and saith to them, `Wherefore have ye done this thing, and keep the lads alive?'
19
And the midwives say unto Pharaoh, `Because the Hebrew women <FI>are<Fi> not as the Egyptian women, for they <FI>are<Fi> lively; before the midwife cometh in unto them--they have borne!'
20
And God doth good to the midwives, and the people multiply, and are very mighty;
21
and it cometh to pass, because the midwives have feared God, that He maketh for them households;
22
and Pharaoh layeth a charge on all his people, saying, `Every son who is born--into the River ye do cast him, and every daughter ye do keep alive.'
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).