Exodus 1:18

And the king called for them and said: What is that you meant to do, that you would save the men children ?

Douay-Rheims 1899

In The King James Version

And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?

In Context

17But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded, but saved the men children.

19They 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.

Read all of Exodus 1

Cross References

2 Samuel 13:28And Absalom had commanded his servants, saying: Take notice when Amnon shall be drunk with wine, and when I shall say to you: Strike him, and kill him, fear not: for it is I that command you: take courage, and be valiant men.

Matthew Henry on Exodus 1:16-22

15 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: 16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. 17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. 18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Exodus 1:18