1 At that time Haḏaḏ son of Beḏaḏ sovereign of Eḏom died, and Samlah from Masreqah, from the land of the children of the East, reigned in his place.
2 In the thirteenth year of the reign of Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim, which was the hundred and twenty-fifth year of the Yisra’ĕlites going down to Mitsrayim, Samlah had reigned over Eḏom eighteen years.
3 And when he reigned, he drew out his armies to go and fight against Tsepho son of Eliphaz and the children of the Ḥittites, because they had fought against Angĕas sovereign of Aphrika, and they destroyed his whole army.
4 But he did not join with him, for the children of Ĕsaw prevented him, saying, “He is their brother.” So Samlah listened to the voice of the children of Ĕsaw, and turned back with all his armies to the land of Eḏom, and did not proceed to fight against Tsepho son of Eliphaz.
5 And Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim heard this word, saying, “Samlah sovereign of Eḏom has resolved to fight the children of the Ḥittites, and afterward he will come to fight against Mitsrayim.”
6 And when the Mitsrites heard this matter, they increased the labour upon the children of Yisra’ĕl, lest the Yisra’elites should do to them as they did to them in their battle with the children of Ĕsaw in the days of Haḏaḏ.
7 So the Mitsrites said to the children of Yisra’ĕl, “Hurry and do your work, and finish your task, and strengthen the land, lest the children of Ĕsaw your brothers should come to fight against us! For because of you they will come against us.”
8 And the children of Yisra’ĕl did the work of the men of Mitsrayim day by day, and the Mitsrites afflicted the children of Yisra’ĕl in order to lessen them in the land.
9 But as the Mitsrites increased the labour upon the children of Yisra’ĕl, so the children of Yisra’ĕl increased and multiplied, and all Mitsrayim was filled with the children of Yisra’ĕl.
10 And in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of Yisra’el’s going down to Mitsrayim, all the Mitsrites saw that their counsel did not succeed against Yisra’ĕl, but that they increased and grew, and the land of Mitsrayim and the land of Goshen were filled with the children of Yisra’ĕl.
11 So all the elders of Mitsrayim and its wise men came before the sovereign and bowed down to him and sat before him.
12 And all the elders of Mitsrayim and the wise men said to the sovereign, “May the sovereign live forever! You counselled us the counsel against the children of Yisra’ĕl, and we did to them according to the word of the sovereign.
13 “But in proportion to the increase of the labour, so do they increase and grow in the land, and look, the whole country is filled with them!
14 “Now therefore our master and sovereign, the eyes of all Mitsrayim are upon you to give them advice with your wisdom, by which they may prevail over Yisra’ĕl to destroy them, or to diminish them from the land.” And the sovereign answered them saying, “Give counsel in this matter that we may know what to do to them.”
15 And an officer, one of the sovereign’s counsellors, whose name was lyoḇ, from Aram-Naharayim, in the land of Uts, answered the sovereign, saying,
16 “If it please the sovereign, let him hear the counsel of his servant.” And the sovereign said to him, “Speak.”
17 And lyoḇ spoke before the sovereign, the princes, and before all the elders of Mitsrayim, saying,
18 “Look, the counsel of the sovereign which he advised formerly respecting the labour of the children of Yisra’ĕl is very good, and you must not remove from them that labour forever.
19 “But this is the advice counselled by which you may lessen them, if it seems good to the sovereign to afflict them.
20 “Look, we have feared battle for a long time, and we said, ‘When Yisra’ĕl becomes fruitful in the land, they will drive us from the land if a battle should take place.’
21 “If it please the sovereign, let a royal decree go forth, and let it be written in the laws of Mitsrayim which shall not be revoked, that every male child born to the Yisra’ĕlites, his blood shall be spilled on the ground.
22 “And by your doing this, when all the male children of Yisra’ĕl have died, the evil of their wars will cease! Let the sovereign do so and send for all the Iḇri midwives and order them in this matter to execute it.” So the word pleased the sovereign and the princes, and the sovereign did according to the word of lyoḇ.
23 And the sovereign sent for the Iḇri midwives to be called, of which the name of one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Pu’ah.
24 And the midwives came before the sovereign, and stood in his presence.
25 And the sovereign said to them, “When you do the service of a midwife the Iḇri women, and see them upon the birth-stools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.
26 “But if you will not do this matter, then I will burn you and all your houses with fire!”
27 But the midwives feared Elohim and did not listen to the sovereign of Mitsrayim nor to his words, and when the Iḇri women brought forth son or daughter to the midwife, then the midwife did all that was necessary for the child and let it live; thus the midwives did all the days.
28 And this matter was told to the sovereign, and he sent and called for the midwives and he said to them, “Why have you done this matter and have saved the children alive?”
29 And the midwives answered and spoke together before the sovereign, saying,
30 “Let not the sovereign think that the Iḇri women are as the Mitsrite women, for all the children of Yisra’ĕl are lively, and before the midwife comes to them they are delivered. And as for us your female servants, for many days no Iḇri woman has brought forth upon us, for all the Iḇri women are their own midwives, because they are lively.”
31 And Pharaoh heard their words and believed them in this matter, and the midwives went away from the sovereign, and Elohim dealt well with them, and the people multiplied and grew exceedingly.