Passage
Exodus 1.15
Book: Exodus · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
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ASV (ASV)
"13. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor: 14. 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. 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. 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. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive." (Exodus 1:13-17, ASV)
WEB (WEB)
"13. The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve, 14. and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve."
"15. The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah,"
"16. and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool; if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17. But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive." (Exodus 1:13-17, WEB)
KJV (KJV)
"13. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour."
"15. And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:"
"16. And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. 17. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive." (Exodus 1:13-17, KJV)
YLT (YLT)
"13. and the Egyptians cause the sons of Israel to serve with rigour, 14. and make their lives bitter in hard service, in clay, and in brick, and in every [kind] of service in the field; all their service in which they have served [is] with rigour."
"15. And the king of Egypt speaketh to the midwives, the Hebrewesses, (of whom the name of the one [is] Shiphrah, and the name of the second Puah),"
"16. and saith, 'When ye cause the Hebrew women to bear, and have looked on the children; if it [is] a son, then ye have put him to death; and if it [is] a daughter, then she hath lived.' 17. And the midwives fear God, and have not done as the king of Egypt hath spoken unto them, and keep the lads alive;" (Exodus 1:13-17, YLT)
Setting
- Speaker: Moses (traditional)
- Audience: Israelite congregation post-Exodus
- Location: Egypt → Sinai wilderness
- Time period: events c. 1446-1445 BC; composed c. 1446-1406 BC
Theological reading
Key words
- H0259 - echad, echad (Strong's H259). Also appears in: Genesis 2.24, Genesis 3, Genesis 10.25.
- H8034 - shem, shem (Strong's H8034). Also appears in: Genesis 3, Genesis 4.26, Genesis 6.4.
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.