1 S ão estes, pois, os nomes dos filhos de Israel que entraram com Jacó no Egito, cada um com a sua respectiva família:

Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob):

2 R úben, Simeão, Levi e Judá;

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,

3 I ssacar, Zebulom e Benjamim;

Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,

4 D ã, Naftali, Gade e Aser.

Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

5 A o todo, os descendentes de Jacó eram setenta; José, porém, já estava no Egito.

And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: and Joseph was in Egypt already.

6 O ra, morreram José, todos os seus irmãos e toda aquela geração.

And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

7 O s israelitas, porém, eram férteis, proliferaram, tornaram-se numerosos e fortaleceram-se muito, tanto que encheram o país.

And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

8 E ntão subiu ao trono do Egito um novo rei, que nada sabia sobre José.

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.

9 D isse ele ao seu povo: “Vejam! O povo israelita é agora numeroso e mais forte que nós.

And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:

10 T emos que agir com astúcia, para que não se tornem ainda mais numerosos e, no caso de guerra, aliem-se aos nossos inimigos, lutem contra nós e fujam do país”.

come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.

11 E stabeleceram, pois, sobre eles chefes de trabalhos forçados, para os oprimir com tarefas pesadas. E assim os israelitas construíram para o faraó as cidades-celeiros de Pitom e Ramessés.

Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses.

12 T odavia, quanto mais eram oprimidos, mais numerosos se tornavam e mais se espalhavam. Por isso os egípcios passaram a temer os israelitas,

But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

13 e os sujeitaram a cruel escravidão.

And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:

14 T ornaram-lhes a vida amarga, impondo-lhes a árdua tarefa de preparar o barro e fazer tijolos, e executar todo tipo de trabalho agrícola; em tudo os egípcios os sujeitavam a cruel escravidão.

and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field, all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.

15 O rei do Egito ordenou às parteiras dos hebreus, que se chamavam Sifrá e Puá:

And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

16 “ Quando vocês ajudarem as hebréias a dar à luz, verifiquem se é menino. Se for, matem-no; se for menina, deixem-na viver”.

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.

17 T odavia, as parteiras temeram a Deus e não obedeceram às ordens do rei do Egito; deixaram viver os meninos.

But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive.

18 E ntão o rei do Egito convocou as parteiras e lhes perguntou: “Por que vocês fizeram isso? Por que deixaram viver os meninos?”

And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive?

19 R esponderam as parteiras ao faraó: “As mulheres hebréias não são como as egípcias. São cheias de vigor e dão à luz antes de chegarem as parteiras”.

And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwife come unto them.

20 D eus foi bondoso com as parteiras; e o povo ia se tornando ainda mais numeroso, cada vez mais forte.

And God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

21 V isto que as parteiras temeram a Deus, ele concedeu-lhes que tivessem suas próprias famílias.

And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them households.

22 P or isso o faraó ordenou a todo o seu povo: “Lancem ao Nilo todo menino recém-nascido, mas deixem viver as meninas”.

And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.