Exodus 1

New International Version

The Israelites Oppressed

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel^(A) who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: ²Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; ³Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; ⁴Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.^(B) ⁵The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy^[a] in all;^(C) Joseph was already in Egypt.

⁶Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,^(D) ⁷but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers^(E) and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

⁸Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.^(F) ⁹“Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous^(G) for us.^(H) ¹⁰Come, we must deal shrewdly^(I) with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”^(J)

¹¹So they put slave masters^(K) over them to oppress them with forced labor,^(L) and they built Pithom and Rameses^(M) as store cities^(N) for Pharaoh. ¹²But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites ¹³and worked them ruthlessly.^(O) ¹⁴They made their lives bitter with harsh labor^(P) in brick^(Q) and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.^(R)

¹⁵The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives,^(S) whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, ¹⁶“When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”^(T) ¹⁷The midwives, however, feared^(U) God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;^(V) they let the boys live. ¹⁸Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

¹⁹The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”^(W)

²⁰So God was kind to the midwives^(X) and the people increased and became even more numerous. ²¹And because the midwives feared^(Y) God, he gave them families^(Z) of their own.

²²Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile,^(AA) but let every girl live.”^(AB)

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Footnotes

Exodus 1:5 Masoretic Text (see also Gen. 46:27); Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (see also Acts 7:14 and note at Gen. 46:27) seventy-five

Psalm 101

New International Version

Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

¹I will sing of your love^(A) and justice;
to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
²I will be careful to lead a blameless life^(B)—
when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs^(C) of my house
with a blameless heart.
³I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.^(D)

I hate what faithless people do;^(E)
I will have no part in it.
⁴The perverse of heart^(F) shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

⁵Whoever slanders their neighbor^(G) in secret,
I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes^(H) and a proud heart,
I will not tolerate.

⁶My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless^(I)
will minister to me.

⁷No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.

⁸Every morning^(J) I will put to silence
all the wicked^(K) in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer^(L)
from the city of the Lord.^(M)

Psalm 109

New International Version

Psalm 109

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹My God, whom I praise,^(A)
    do not remain silent,^(B)
²for people who are wicked and deceitful^(C)
    have opened their mouths against me;
    they have spoken against me with lying tongues.^(D)
³With words of hatred^(E) they surround me;
    they attack me without cause.^(F)
⁴In return for my friendship they accuse me,
    but I am a man of prayer.^(G)
⁵They repay me evil for good,^(H)
    and hatred for my friendship.

⁶Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser^(I) stand at his right hand.
⁷When he is tried, let him be found guilty,^(J)
    and may his prayers condemn^(K) him.
⁸May his days be few;^(L)
    may another take his place^(M) of leadership.
⁹May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.^(N)
¹⁰May his children be wandering beggars;^(O)
    may they be driven^[a] from their ruined homes.
¹¹May a creditor^(P) seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder^(Q) the fruits of his labor.^(R)
¹²May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity^(S) on his fatherless children.
¹³May his descendants be cut off,^(T)
    their names blotted out^(U) from the next generation.
¹⁴May the iniquity of his fathers^(V) be remembered before the Lord;
    may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
¹⁵May their sins always remain before^(W) the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name^(X) from the earth.

¹⁶For he never thought of doing a kindness,
    but hounded to death the poor
    and the needy^(Y) and the brokenhearted.^(Z)
¹⁷He loved to pronounce a curse—
    may it come back on him.^(AA)
He found no pleasure in blessing—
    may it be far from him.
¹⁸He wore cursing^(AB) as his garment;
    it entered into his body like water,^(AC)
    into his bones like oil.
¹⁹May it be like a cloak wrapped^(AD) about him,
    like a belt tied forever around him.
²⁰May this be the Lord’s payment^(AE) to my accusers,
    to those who speak evil^(AF) of me.

²¹But you, Sovereign Lord,
    help me for your name’s sake;^(AG)
    out of the goodness of your love,^(AH) deliver me.^(AI)
²²For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is wounded within me.
²³I fade away like an evening shadow;^(AJ)
    I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴My knees give^(AK) way from fasting;^(AL)
    my body is thin and gaunt.^(AM)
²⁵I am an object of scorn^(AN) to my accusers;
    when they see me, they shake their heads.^(AO)

²⁶Help me,^(AP) Lord my God;
    save me according to your unfailing love.
²⁷Let them know^(AQ) that it is your hand,
    that you, Lord, have done it.
²⁸While they curse,^(AR) may you bless;
    may those who attack me be put to shame,
    but may your servant rejoice.^(AS)
²⁹May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
    and wrapped in shame^(AT) as in a cloak.

³⁰With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
in the great throng^(AU) of worshipers I will praise him.
³¹For he stands at the right hand^(AV) of the needy,
to save their lives from those who would condemn them.