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.
14. They made them suffer with hard labor. They forced them to work with bricks and mud. And they made them do all kinds of work in the fields. The Egyptians didn't show them any pity at all. They made them work very hard.
15. There were two Hebrew women named Shiphrah and Puah. They helped other women who were having babies. The king of Egypt spoke to them. He said,
16. "You are the ones who help the other Hebrew women. Watch them when they get into a sitting position to have their babies. Kill the boys. Let the girls live."
17. But Shiphrah and Puah had respect for God. They didn't do what the king of Egypt had told them to do. They let the boys live.
18. Then the king of Egypt sent for the women. He asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"