Exodus 1:8-12

English Standard Version

Pharaoh Oppresses Israel

⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, ^(A)who did not know Joseph. ⁹ And he said to his people, “Behold, ^(B)the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. ^10 (C)Come, ^(D)let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them ^(E)to afflict them with heavy ^(F)burdens. They built for Pharaoh ^(G)store cities, Pithom and ^(H)Raamses. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.