Êxodo 1 – NVI-PT & NIRV

Nova Versão Internacional

Êxodo 1:1-22

A Opressão no Egito

1São estes, pois, os nomes dos filhos de Israel que entraram com Jacó no Egito, cada um com a sua respectiva família:

2Rúben, Simeão, Levi e Judá;

3Issacar, Zebulom e Benjamim;

4Dã, Naftali, Gade e Aser.

5Ao todo, os descendentes de Jacó eram setenta1.5 Os manuscritos do mar Morto e a Septuaginta dizem setenta e cinco. Veja Gn 46.27 e At 7.14.; José, porém, já estava no Egito.

6Ora, morreram José, todos os seus irmãos e toda aquela geração. 7Os israelitas, porém, eram férteis, proliferaram, tornaram-se numerosos e fortaleceram-se muito, tanto que encheram o país.

8Então subiu ao trono do Egito um novo rei, que nada sabia sobre José. 9Disse ele ao seu povo: “Vejam! O povo israelita é agora numeroso e mais forte que nós. 10Temos que agir com astúcia, para que não se tornem ainda mais numerosos e, no caso de guerra, aliem-se aos nossos inimigos, lutem contra nós e fujam do país”.

11Estabeleceram, pois, sobre eles chefes de trabalhos forçados, para os oprimir com tarefas pesadas. E assim os israelitas construíram para o faraó as cidades-celeiros de Pitom e Ramessés. 12Todavia, quanto mais eram oprimidos, mais numerosos se tornavam e mais se espalhavam. Por isso os egípcios passaram a temer os israelitas 13e os sujeitaram a cruel escravidão. 14Tornaram-lhes a vida amarga, impondo-lhes a árdua tarefa de preparar o barro e fazer tijolos, e executar todo tipo de trabalho agrícola; em tudo os egípcios os sujeitavam a cruel escravidão.

15O rei do Egito ordenou às parteiras dos hebreus, que se chamavam Sifrá e Puá: 16“Quando vocês ajudarem as hebreias a dar à luz, verifiquem se é menino1.16 Hebraico: as duas pedras. Possível eufemismo para os órgãos genitais ou ainda uma referência a um assento onde as mulheres davam à luz.. Se for, matem-no; se for menina, deixem-na viver”. 17Todavia, as parteiras temeram a Deus e não obedeceram às ordens do rei do Egito; deixaram viver os meninos. 18Então o rei do Egito convocou as parteiras e lhes perguntou: “Por que vocês fizeram isso? Por que deixaram viver os meninos?”

19Responderam as parteiras ao faraó: “As mulheres hebreias não são como as egípcias. São cheias de vigor e dão à luz antes de chegarem as parteiras”.

20Deus foi bondoso com as parteiras; e o povo ia se tornando ainda mais numeroso, cada vez mais forte. 21Visto que as parteiras temeram a Deus, ele concedeu-lhes que tivessem suas próprias famílias.

22Por isso o faraó ordenou a todo o seu povo: “Lancem ao Nilo todo menino recém-nascido1.22 O Pentateuco Samaritano, a Septuaginta e os Targuns dizem recém-nascido hebreu., mas deixem viver as meninas”.

New International Reader’s Version

Exodus 1:1-22

The Israelites Become Slaves in Egypt

1Here are the names of Israel’s children who went to Egypt with Jacob. Each one went with his family. 2Jacob’s sons were

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,

3Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,

4Dan, Naphtali,

Gad and Asher.

5The total number of Jacob’s children and grandchildren was 70. Joseph was already in Egypt.

6Joseph and all his brothers died. So did all their children. 7The people of Israel had many children. The number of them greatly increased. There were so many of them that they filled the land.

8Then a new king came to power in Egypt. Joseph didn’t mean anything to him. 9“Look,” he said to his people. “The Israelites are far too many for us. 10Come. We must deal with them carefully. If we don’t, there will be even more of them. Then if war breaks out, they’ll join our enemies. They’ll fight against us and leave the country.”

11So the Egyptians put slave drivers over the people of Israel. The slave drivers treated them badly and made them work hard. The Israelites built the cities of Pithom and Rameses so Pharaoh could store things there. 12But the worse the slave drivers treated the Israelites, the more Israelites there were. So the Egyptians became afraid of them. 13They made them work hard. They didn’t show them any pity. 14The people suffered because of their hard labor. The slave drivers forced them to work with bricks and mud. And they made them do all kinds of work in the fields. The Egyptians didn’t show them any pity at all. They made them work very hard.

15There were two Hebrew women named Shiphrah and Puah. They helped other women having babies. The king of Egypt spoke to them. He said, 16“You are the ones who help the other Hebrew women. Watch them when they get into a sitting position to have their babies. Kill the boys. Let the girls live.” 17But Shiphrah and Puah had respect for God. They didn’t do what the king of Egypt had told them to do. They let the boys live. 18Then the king of Egypt sent for the women. He asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

19The women answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like the women of Egypt. They are strong. They have their babies before we get there.”

20So God was kind to Shiphrah and Puah. And the number of Israelites became even greater. 21Shiphrah and Puah had respect for God. So he gave them families of their own.

22Then Pharaoh gave an order to all his people. He said, “You must throw every Hebrew baby boy into the Nile River. But let every Hebrew baby girl live.”