17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live.
18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”
— Exodus 1:17-19