Exodus 1:6-12

Christian Standard Bible

⁶ Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation eventually died.^{(A) 7} But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous^(B) so that the land was filled with them.

⁸ A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. ⁹ He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are.^{(C) 10} Come, let’s deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and when war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”^{(D) 11} So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor.^(E) They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities^(F) for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread^[a] the Israelites.