And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.
Parallel translations
- WEB Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
- KJV And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
- NKJV And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.
- NASB And because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.
- NLT And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
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
Because the midwives feared God, He gave them households of their own. Their reverence is met with His blessing.
Overview
Giving them families is a fitting reward for women who protected the families of others. This explicit statement confirms that it is their fear of God that Scripture commends. It illustrates the principle that God honors those who honor Him, often in kind and in ways that endure.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Kgs 11:38If you listen to all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight in order to keep My statutes and commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.
- 1 Sam 2:35Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. And I will build for him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed one for all time.
- Ps 37:3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- 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.
- 2 Sam 7:27–29For You, O LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, ‘I will build a house for you.’ Therefore Your servant has found the courage to offer this prayer to You.
- 1 Kgs 2:24And now, as surely as the LORD lives—the One who established me, who set me on the throne of my father David, and who founded for me a dynasty as He promised—surely Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
- 1 Sam 25:28Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live.
- Ps 127:1A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
- 2 Sam 7:11–13and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you.
- Jer 35:2“Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the house of the LORD to offer them a drink of wine.”
- Ps 127:3Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
- Prov 24:3By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 1:21 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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