14. They made life hard for the Israelites. They forced the Israelites to work hard at making bricks and mortar and to work hard in the fields. The Egyptians showed no mercy in all the hard work they made the Israelites do!
15. There were two Hebrew nurses who helped the Israelite women give birth. They were named Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to the nurses,
16. “You will continue to help the Hebrew women give birth to their children. If a girl baby is born, let the baby live. But if the baby is a boy, you must kill him!”
17. But the nurses trusted God, so they did not obey the king’s command. They let all the baby boys live.
18. The king of Egypt called for the nurses and asked them, “Why did you do this? Why did you let the baby boys live?”
19. The nurses said to the king, “The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can go to help them.”
20-21. The nurses trusted God, so he was good to them and allowed them to have their own families. The Hebrews continued to have more children, and they became very strong.
22. So Pharaoh gave this command to his own people: “If the Hebrew women give birth to a baby girl, let it live. But if they have a baby boy, you must throw it into the Nile River.”