Exodus 1:19
New International Version
The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

New Living Translation
“The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.”

English Standard Version
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

Berean Standard Bible
The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”

King James Bible
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 midwives come in unto them.

New King James Version
And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”

New American Standard Bible
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”

NASB 1995
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”

NASB 1977
And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and they give birth before the midwife can get to them.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can come to them.”

Amplified Bible
The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth quickly and their babies are born before the midwife can get to them.”

Christian Standard Bible
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife can get to them.”

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the Midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrews are not like the Egyptian women, because they are Midwives, and when the Midwives are not near them, they give birth.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the midwives said to Pharao, The Hebrew women are not as the women of Egypt, for they are delivered before the midwives go in to them. So they bore children.

Contemporary English Version
They answered, "Hebrew women have their babies much quicker than Egyptian women. By the time we arrive, their babies are already born."

Douay-Rheims Bible
They answered: The Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women: for they themselves are skillful in the office of a midwife; and they are delivered before we come to them.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are so healthy that they have their babies before a midwife arrives."

Good News Translation
They answered, "The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they give birth easily, and their babies are born before either of us gets there."

International Standard Version
"Hebrew women aren't like Egyptian women," the midwives replied to Pharaoh. "They're so healthy that they give birth before the midwives arrive to help them."

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.'

Literal Standard Version
And the midwives say to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women [are] not as the Egyptian women, for they [are] lively; before the midwife comes to them—they have borne!”

Majority Standard Bible
The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”

New American Bible
The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are robust and give birth before the midwife arrives.”

NET Bible
The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women--for the Hebrew women are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!"

New Revised Standard Version
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

New Heart English Bible
The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women aren't like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and give birth before the midwife comes to them."

Webster's Bible Translation
And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women: for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in to them.

World English Bible
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

Young's Literal Translation
And the midwives say unto Pharaoh, 'Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women, for they are lively; before the midwife cometh in unto them -- they have borne!'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Oppression by a New King
18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” 19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.” 20So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous.…

Cross References
Exodus 1:18
So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"

Exodus 1:20
So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous.


Treasury of Scripture

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

Joshua 2:4
And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:

1 Samuel 21:2
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

2 Samuel 17:19,20
And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known…

Jump to Previous
Arrive Birth Delivered Egyptian Ere Hebrew Lively Midwife Midwives Pharaoh Strong Vigorous Women
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Arrive Birth Delivered Egyptian Ere Hebrew Lively Midwife Midwives Pharaoh Strong Vigorous Women
Exodus 1
1. The children of Israel, after Joseph's death, increase.
8. The more they are oppressed by a new king, the more they multiply.
15. The godliness of the midwives in saving the male children alive.
22. Pharaoh commands the male children to be cast into the river














(19) The Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women.--This was probably true; but it was not the whole truth. Though the midwives had the courage to disobey the king, they had not "the courage of their convictions," and were afraid to confess their real motive. So they took refuge in a half truth, and pretended that what really occurred in some cases only was a general occurrence. It is a fact, that in the East parturition is often so short a process that the attendance of a midwife is dispensed with.

Verse 19. - They are vigorous. Literally, "they are lively." In the East at the present day a large proportion of the women deliver themselves; and the services of professional accoucheurs are very rarely called in. The excuse of the midwives had thus a basis of fact to rest upon, and was only untrue because it was not the whole truth.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The midwives
הַֽמְיַלְּדֹת֙ (ham·yal·lə·ḏōṯ)
Article | Verb - Piel - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

answered
וַתֹּאמַ֤רְןָ (wat·tō·mar·nā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

Pharaoh,
פַּרְעֹ֔ה (par·‘ōh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6547: Pharaoh -- a title of Egypt kings

“The Hebrew women
הָֽעִבְרִיֹּ֑ת (hā·‘iḇ·rî·yōṯ)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine plural
Strong's 5680: Hebrews -- perhaps descendant of Eber, also another name for an Israelite

are not
לֹ֧א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

like the Egyptian
הַמִּצְרִיֹּ֖ת (ham·miṣ·rî·yōṯ)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine plural
Strong's 4713: Egyptian -- inhabitant of Egypt

women,
כַנָּשִׁ֛ים (ḵan·nā·šîm)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

for
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

they
הֵ֔נָּה (hên·nāh)
Pronoun - third person feminine plural
Strong's 2007: Themselves

are vigorous
חָי֣וֹת (ḥā·yō·wṯ)
Adjective - feminine plural
Strong's 2422: Community

and give birth
הַמְיַלֶּ֖דֶת (ham·yal·le·ḏeṯ)
Article | Verb - Piel - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

before
בְּטֶ֨רֶם (bə·ṭe·rem)
Preposition-b | Adverb
Strong's 2962: Non-occurrence, not yet, before

a midwife
וְיָלָֽדוּ׃ (wə·yā·lā·ḏū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

arrives.”
תָּב֧וֹא (tā·ḇō·w)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go


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OT Law: Exodus 1:19 The midwives said to Pharaoh Because (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 1:18
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