15 Then the king gave orders to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah. 16 He told them, "When you assist the Hebrew women during childbirth, if you see it’s a boy, kill him; but if it’s a girl, let her live." 17 But because the midwives revered God, they didn’t do what the king of Egypt had ordered. They let the boys live as well.
18 The king of Egypt called the midwives in and demanded to know, "Why have you done this— letting the male children live?"
19 "Hebrew women aren’t like Egyptian women," the midwives told Pharaoh. "They give birth more easily—they have them before we midwives arrive."
20 God treated the midwives well, and the people increased in number so there were even more of them. 21 Because the midwives revered God, he gave them families of their own.