But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
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.
- BSB The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live.
- 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 5:29Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
- Exod 1:21And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
- Matt 10:28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Luke 12:5But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
- Eccl 12:13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
- Acts 4:18–20And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
- Dan 6:13Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
- Dan 3:16–18Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
- Prov 16:6By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
- Eccl 8:12Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
- Gen 42:18And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
- Ps 31:19Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
- Hos 5:11Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.
- Neh 5:15But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.
- Prov 8:13The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
- Mic 6:16For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.
- Prov 24:11–12If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
- Gen 20:11And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.