Exodus:1

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* Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt ; each man and his household came with Jacob : * Reuben , Simeon , Levi , and Judah ; * Issachar , Zebulun , and Benjamin ; * Dan , Naphtali , Gad , and Asher . * All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already ). * And Joseph died , all his brothers , and all that generation . * But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly , multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty ; and the land was filled with them . * Now there arose a new king over Egypt , who did not know Joseph . * And he said to his people , "Look , the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we ; * come , let us deal shrewdly with them , lest they multiply , and it happen , in the event of war , that they also join our enemies and fight against us , and so go up out of the land ." * Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens . And they built for Pharaoh supply cities , Pithom and Raamses . * But the more they afflicted them , the more they multiplied and grew . And they were in dread of the children of Israel . * So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor . * And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage--in mortar , in brick , and in all manner of service in the field . All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor . * Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives , of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah ; * and he said , "When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women , and see them on the birthstools , if it is a son , then you shall kill him ; but if it is a daughter , then she shall live ." * But the midwives feared God , and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them , but saved the male children alive . * So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them , "Why have you done this thing , and saved the male children alive ?" * And the midwives said to Pharaoh , "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women ; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them ." * Therefore God dealt well with the midwives , and the people multiplied and grew very mighty . * And so it was , because the midwives feared God , that He provided households for them . * So Pharaoh commanded all his people , saying , "Every son who is born you shall cast into the river , and every daughter you shall save alive ."

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