Exodus 1:14

12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.

13 They worked the Israelites ruthlessly

and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,

16 “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.
KJV
And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
WEB
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.
ASV
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.
DARBY
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.
BLB
and they made bitter their lives with hard labor—with mortar and with bricks and with all manner of labor in the field, all their service in which they made them serve—with harshness.
ÅB
og de forbitret livet for dem med hårdt slavearbeid i leire og tegl og med alle slags slavearbeid på marken, alt det slavearbeid som de tvang dem til å gjøre.
OTB
og gjorde deres liv bitre med hardt arbeid i mørtel og murstein og all slags arbeid på markene; alt deres arbeid ble pålagt dem med hardhet.
B1930
og de forbitret livet for dem med hårdt trælarbeid i ler og tegl og med alle slags trælarbeid på marken, alt det trælarbeid som de tvang dem til å gjøre.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Acts 7:19

    He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.

    Read in context
  • Numbers 20:15

    how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers,

    Read in context
  • Exodus 2:23

    After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.

    Read in context
  • Exodus 6:9

    Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.

    Read in context
  • Acts 7:34

    I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

    Read in context
  • Psalms 81:6

    “I relieved his shoulder of the burden; his hands were freed from the basket.

    Read in context
  • Isaiah 58:6

    Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?

    Read in context
  • Micah 3:3

    You eat the flesh of my people after stripping off their skin and breaking their bones. You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot, like meat in a cauldron.”

    Read in context