6. Joseph and all of his brothers died. So did all of their children.
7. The people of Israel had many children. They greatly increased their numbers. There were so many of them that they filled the land.
8. Then a new king came to power in Egypt. He didn't know anything about Joseph.
9. "Look," he said to his people. "The Israelites are far too many for us.
10. Come. We must deal with them carefully. If we don't, they will increase their numbers even more. Then if war breaks out, they'll join our enemies. They'll fight against us and leave the country."
11. So the Egyptians put slave drivers over the people of Israel. The slave drivers beat them down and made them work hard. The Israelites built the cities of Pithom and Rameses so Pharaoh could store things there.
12. But the more the slave drivers beat them down, the more the Israelites increased their numbers and spread out. So the Egyptians became afraid of them.
13. They made them work hard. They didn't show them any pity.