The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive.
- KJV But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
- NKJV But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.
- NASB But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
- NLT But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The midwives fear God and refuse to obey Pharaoh, saving the baby boys. Reverence for God outweighs fear of the king.
Overview
Their fear of God produces courageous civil disobedience to an immoral command, a pattern affirmed elsewhere in Scripture (Acts 5:29). They model that earthly authority is not absolute and must never be obeyed when it commands sin. Their reverence for God, not their social standing, makes them heroes of faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Acts 5:29But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Exod 1:21And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.
- Matt 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Luke 12:5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!
- Eccl 12:13When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
- Acts 4:18–20Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
- Dan 6:13Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”
- Dan 3:16–18Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
- Prov 16:6By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.
- Eccl 8:12Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
- Gen 42:18and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:
- Ps 31:19How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!
- Hos 5:11Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols.
- Neh 5:15The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God.
- Prov 8:13To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
- Mic 6:16You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”
- Prov 24:11–12Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.
- Gen 20:11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 1:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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