Exodus 1:15

Easy-to-Read Version

There were two Hebrew nurses who helped the Israelite women give birth. They were named Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to the nurses,

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The king of Mitzrayim spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shifrah, and the name of the other Pu`ah,

King James Version
And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

Lexham English Bible
And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives—of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah and the name of the second was Puah—

New Century Version
Two Hebrew nurses, named Shiphrah and Puah, helped the Israelite women give birth to their babies. The king of Egypt said to the nurses,

New English Translation
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,

Amplified Bible
Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah (beauty) and the other named Puah (splendor),

New American Standard Bible
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah, and the other was named Puah;

Geneva Bible (1587)
Moreouer the King of Egypt commanded ye midwiues of the Ebrewe women, (of which the ones name was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah)

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;

Contemporary English Version
Finally, the king called in Shiphrah and Puah, the two women who helped the Hebrew mothers when they gave birth.

Complete Jewish Bible
Moreover, the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shifrah and the other Pu‘ah.

Darby Translation
And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives—of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other was Puah—

English Standard Version
Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,

George Lamsa Translation
And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Puah and the name of the other Shoprah;

Good News Translation
Then the king of Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the Hebrew women.

Christian Standard Bible®
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives—the first whose name was Shiphrah and the second whose name was Puah—

Literal Translation
And the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrews, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah, and the name of the second, Puah;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the kynge of Egipte sayde vnto the mydwyues of the Hebrueswemen. (Of the which one was called Siphra, and the other Pua:)

American Standard Version
And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

Bible in Basic English
And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew women who gave help at the time of childbirth (the name of the one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah),

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the kyng of Egypt spake vnto the mydwyfes of the Hebrues women: (of which the one was named Siphrah and the other Puah) and sayde:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah;

King James Version (1611)
And the King of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwiues, (of which the name of one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah.)

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the king of the Egyptians spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews; the name of the one was, Sepphora; and the name of the second, Phua.

English Revised Version
And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

Berean Standard Bible
Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe the kyng of Egipt seide to the mydwyues of Ebrews, of whiche oon was clepid Sefora, the tother Fua;

Young's Literal Translation
And the king of Egypt speaketh to the midwives, the Hebrewesses, (of whom the name of the one [is] Shiphrah, and the name of the second Puah),

Update Bible Version
And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

Webster's Bible Translation
And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives (of which the name of one [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:)

World English Bible
The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah,

New King James Version
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah;

New Living Translation
Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah:

New Life Bible
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew nurses. The name of one was Shiphrah. The name of the other was Puah.

New Revised Standard
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said the king of Egypt to the Hebrew midwives, - of whom, the name of the one was, Shiphrah, and, the name of the other Puah; -

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king of Egypt spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews: of whom one was called Sephora, the other Phua,

Revised Standard Version
Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiph'rah and the other Pu'ah,

THE MESSAGE
The king of Egypt had a talk with the two Hebrew midwives; one was named Shiphrah and the other Puah. He said, "When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the sex of the baby. If it's a boy, kill him; if it's a girl, let her live."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ There were two Hebrew nurses who helped the Israelite women give birth. They were named Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to the nurses, ¹⁶ "You will continue to help the Hebrew women give birth to their children. If a girl baby is born, let the baby live. But if the baby is a boy, you must kill him!" ¹⁷ But the nurses trusted God, so they did not obey the king's command. They let all the baby boys live. ¹⁸ The king of Egypt called for the nurses and asked them, "Why did you do this? Why did you let the baby boys live?" ¹⁹ The nurses said to the king, "The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can go to help them." ²⁰The nurses trusted God, so he was good to them and allowed them to have their own families. The Hebrews continued to have more children, and they became very strong. ²² So Pharaoh gave this command to his own people: "If the Hebrew women give birth to a baby girl, let it live. But if they have a baby boy, you must throw it into the Nile River."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Joshua 2:6 - to the roof

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives,.... It is difficult to say who these midwives were, whether Egyptian or Hebrew women. Josephus is of opinion that they were Egyptians, and indeed those the king was most likely to succeed with; and it may seem improbable that he should offer such a thing to Hebrew women, who he could never think would ever comply with it, through promises or threatenings; and the answer they afterwards gave him, that the Hebrew women were not as the Egyptian women, looks as if they were of the latter: and yet, after all, it is more likely that these midwives were Hebrew women, their names are Hebrew; and besides, they are not said to be the midwives of Hebrew women, but Hebrew midwives; nor does it seem probable that the Hebrew women should have Egyptian midwives, and not those of their own nation; and they were such as feared the Lord; and the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem are express for it, and they pretend to tell us who they were: "of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah"; the one, they say, was Jochebed, the wife of Amram, and mother of Moses and Aaron, and the other Miriam their sister; and this is the sense of many of the Jewish writers f: but whatever may be said for Jochebed, it is not credible that Miriam should be a midwife, who was but a girl, or maid, at this time, about seven years of age, as the following chapter shows, and much less one of so much repute as to be spoke to by the king. It may seem strange, that only two should be spoke to on this account, when, as Aben Ezra supposes, there might be five hundred of them: to which it may be answered, that these were the most noted in their profession, and the king began with these, that if he could succeed with them, he would go on to prevail on others, or engage them to use their interest with others to do the like; or these might be the midwives of the principal ladies among the Israelites, in one of whose families, according as his magicians had told, as the Targum of Jonathan observes, should be born a son, by whom the land of Egypt would be destroyed; of which Josephus g also takes notice; and therefore he might be chiefly solicitous to destroy the male children of such families; but Aben Ezra thinks, that these two were the chief over the rest of the midwives, and who collected and paid to the king the tribute out of their salaries, which was laid upon them, and so he had an opportunity of conversing with them on this subject.

f T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 11. 2. Midrash Kohelet, fol. 74. 1. Jarchi in loc. g Ut supra. (Antiq. l. 2. c. 9. sect. 1.)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Hebrew midwifes - Or “midwives of the Hebrew women.” This measure at once attested the inefficacy of the former measures, and was the direct cause of the event which issued in the deliverance of Israel, namely, the exposure of Moses. The women bear Egyptian names, and were probably Egyptians.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 1:15. Hebrew midwives — Shiphrah and Puah, who are here mentioned, were probably certain chiefs, under whom all the rest acted, and by whom they were instructed in the obstetric art. Aben Ezra supposes there could not have been fewer than five hundred midwives among the Hebrew women at this time, but that very few were requisite see proved on Exodus 1:19. See Clark on "Exodus 1:19".