Exodus 1:8-14

Expanded Bible

Trouble for the People of Israel

⁸ Then a new king ·began to rule [^Lrose over] Egypt, who did not know who Joseph was [^Cidentification uncertain; may refer to Ahmose in 16th century bc]. ⁹ ·This king [^LHe] said to his people, “Look! The people of Israel are too many and ·too strong for us to handle [^Lstronger than us]! ¹⁰ If we don’t ·make plans against [deal wisely/shrewdly with] them, the number of their people will grow even more. Then if there is a war, they might join ·our enemies [^Lthose who hate us] and fight us and ·escape [^Lgo up] from the country!”

¹¹ So ·the Egyptians made life hard for the Israelites [^Lthey afflicted/oppressed them with hard labor]. They put slave masters over them, who forced the Israelites to build the cities Pithom and Rameses as ·supply centers [storage cities] for ·the king [^LPharaoh]. ¹² But the harder ·the Egyptians forced the Israelites to work [^Lthey afflicted/oppressed them], the more ·the Israelites grew in number [they multiplied] and spread out. So ·the Egyptians became very afraid of them [^Lthey dreaded the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] ¹³ and ·demanded even more of them [^Lthe Egyptians ruthlessly forced the sons/^Tchildren of Israel to labor]. ¹⁴ They made their lives ·bitter [miserable]. They forced the Israelites to work hard to make bricks and mortar and to do all kinds of work in the fields. ·The Egyptians were not merciful to them in all their painful work [^LThey ruthlessly forced them to work].