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Exodus 1:16

14 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,

“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.”

17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live.

18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

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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
“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.”
KJV
And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
WEB
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.”
ASV
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.
DARBY
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.
BLB
And he said, “When you⁺ cause the Hebrewesses to give birth and you⁺ see [them] on the birthstools, if he [is] a son, then you⁺ shall kill him; but if she [is] a daughter, then she shall live.”
ÅB
Når dere hjelper de hebraiske kvinner til å føde, så skal dere se etter i jordmorstolen; er det da en sønn, sa drep ham, men er det en datter, da kan hun leve.
OTB
og han sa: "Når dere hjelper de hebraiske kvinnene ved fødselen og ser dem på fødestolen, hvis det er en sønn, skal dere drepe ham; men hvis det er en datter, skal hun få leve."
B1930
Når I hjelper de hebraiske kvinner til å føde, så skal I se efter i jordmorstolen; er det da en sønn, sa drep ham, men er det en datter, da kan hun leve.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Exodus 1:22

    Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”

    Read in context

  • Matthew 21:38

    But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’

    Read in context