Bible in Basic English
"So they put overseers of forced work over them, in order to make their strength less by the weight of their work. And they made store-towns for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses."
— Exodus 1:11, Bible in Basic English
“Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses. ”
Now a new king came to power in Egypt, who had no knowledge of Joseph.
And he said to his people, See, the people of Israel are greater in number and in power than we are:
Let us take care for fear that their numbers may become even greater, and if there is a war, they may be joined with those who are against us, and make an attack on us, and go up out of the land.
So they put overseers of forced work over them, in order to make their strength less by the weight of their work. And they made store-towns for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses.
But the more cruel they were to them, the more their number increased, till all the land was full of them. And the children of Israel were hated by the Egyptians.
And they gave the children of Israel even harder work to do:
And made their lives bitter with hard work, making building-material and bricks, and doing all sorts of work in the fields under the hardest conditions.