The People of Israel Suffer
1-5 When Jacob went to Egypt, his son Joseph was already there. So Jacob took his eleven other sons and their families. They were: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Altogether, Jacob had 70 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who went with him.
6 After Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else in that generation had died, 7 the people of Israel became so numerous that the whole region of Goshen was full of them.
8 Many years later a new king came to power. He did not know what Joseph had done for Egypt, 9 and he told the Egyptians:
There are too many of those Israelites in our country, and they are becoming more powerful than we are. 10 If we don't outsmart them, their families will keep growing larger. And if our country goes to war, they could easily fight on the side of our enemies and escape from Egypt.
11 The Egyptians put slave bosses in charge of the people of Israel and tried to wear them down with hard work. Those bosses forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses, where the king could store his supplies. 12 But even though the Israelites were mistreated, their families grew larger, and they took over more land. Because of this, the Egyptians feared them worse than before 13 and made them work so hard 14 that their lives were miserable. The Egyptians were cruel to the people of Israel and forced them to make bricks and to mix mortar and to work in the fields.
15 Finally, the king called in Shiphrah and Puah, the two women who helped the Hebrew mothers when they gave birth. 16 He told them, “If a Hebrew woman gives birth to a girl, let the child live. If the baby is a boy, kill him!”
17 But the two women were faithful to God and did not kill the boys, even though the king had told them to. 18 The king called them in again and asked, “Why are you letting those baby boys live?”
19 They answered, “Hebrew women have their babies much quicker than Egyptian women. By the time we arrive, their babies are already born.” 20-21 God was good to the two women because they truly respected him, and he blessed them with children of their own.
The Hebrews kept increasing 22 until finally, the king gave a command to everyone in the nation, “As soon as a Hebrew boy is born, throw him into the Nile River! But you can let the girls live.”
Okuhepekwa kwOvaisraeli moupika muEgipiti
1 Ndele omadina ovana ovamati vaIsrael ava ve uya kuEgipiti oo aa; ovo ve uya pamwe naJakob, keshe umwe neumbo laye: 2 Ruben, Simeon, Levi naJuda, 3 Isaskar, Sebulon naBenjamin, 4 Dan naNaftali, Gad naAsser. 5 Neemwenyo adishe edi da dja momatundji aJakob odo oda li eemwenyo omilongo heyali. Ndelenee Josef okwa li muEgipiti.
6 Ndele Josef okwa fya, novamwaxe vaye aveshe, nepupi alishe linya. 7 Ndelenee Ovaisraeli va li ve noludalo ndele va ninga vahapu, ndele va hapupala ndele va ninga vahapu neenghono nova yadifa oshilongo. 8 Opo nee ohamba ipe ya holoka tai pangele Egipiti, yo ya li inai shiiva Josef nande. 9 Yo oya lombwela ovanhu vayo: “Taleni, oshiwana shOvaisraeli osha ninga shinene shi neenghono shi tu dule. 10 Hano ileni, fye tu pangeleni omhangela momakoto oku va kondjifa, vo vaha dule okuhapupala, nongeenge hatu hangika koita, vo vaha ame kovatondadi vetu noku tu lwifa, ndele tava di mo moshilongo.” 11 Opo nee vo ova pewa ovapashukili oku va hepeka noilonga idjuu. Ndele vo ova tungila Farao oituvikilwalando Pitom naRamses. 12 Ndelenee okuhepekwa kwavo eshi kwa hapupala, nokuhapupala kwavo kwa ehena komesho, nova tandavela; opo Ovaegipiti va tila Ovaisraeli. 13 Onghee hano Ovaegipiti va fininika Ovaisraeli noilonga idjuu youpika, 14 nokukalamwenyo kwavo kwa lulumikwa noilonga idjuu yomunoko needopi noilonga i lili nai lili momapya, heeno, noilonga i lili nai lili ve i fininikilwa ve i longe.
15 Nohamba yaEgipiti ya lombwela ovadalifi Ovaheberi, umwe, edina laye Sifra nolamukwao Pua, 16 ndele tai ti: “Nye eshi tamu kwafa ovalikadi Ovaheberi mokudala omu nokutala pokudalifa, ngeenge okamati, mu noku ka dipaa, ndelenee ngeenge okakadona, naka kale nomwenyo.” 17 Ndelenee ovadalifi ava va li ovatilikalunga noinava ninga ngaashi ohamba yaEgipiti ye va lombwela, ndelenee va efa ouhanana oumati va kale ve nomwenyo. 18 Opo nee ohamba yaEgipiti ya ifana ovadalifi ndele tai ti kuvo: “Omolwashike mwe shi ninga nomwa efa ouhanana oumati va kale nomwenyo?” 19 Novadalifi va lombwela Farao, tava ti: “Ovalikadi Ovaheberi hasho ve li ngaashi Ovaegipiti, osheshi venya ve neenghono, fimbo omudalifi ina fika kuvo, ova dala nokuli.” 20 Ndelenee Kalunga okwa nangeka noupuna ovadalifi. Noshiwana osha hapupala nosha ninga shinene shi neenghono. 21 Ndele ovadalifi eshi va tila Kalunga, Ye okwe va pa oludalo lihapu. 22 Opo nee Farao okwa lombwela ovanhu vaye aveshe, ndele ta ti: “Ovana aveshe ovamati ava tava dalwa ve nokweekelwa muNil, ndelenee oukadona aveshe nava efuwe ve nomwenyo.”
