Exodus 2

The Birth and Adoption of Moses

1Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,

1And a man from the house of Levi went, and he took a daughter of Levi.

2and she conceived and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months.

2And the woman conceived and bore a son, and she saw him, that he was good, and she hid him for three months.

3But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

3And she was not able to hid him anymore, and she took for him an ark of papyrus and daubed it with tar and with pitch, and she put the child in it and she placed it in the reeds along the edge of the River.

4And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

4And his sister stationed herself from a distance, to know what would be done to him.

5Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it.

5And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the River, and her maidens were walking along the hand of the River. And she saw the ark in the midst of the reeds, and she sent her maidservant and she took it.

6When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

6And she opened it, and she saw the child, and behold, a boy weeping. And she had compassion on him, and she said, “This is one of the children of the Hebrews.”

7Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”

7And his sister said to the daughter of Pharaoh, “Shall I go and call for you a nursing woman from the Hebrewesses, that she may nurse for you the child?”

8“Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the boy’s mother.

8And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, “Go.” And the girl went and called the mother of the child.

9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him.

9And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, “Take away this child and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wage.” And the woman took the child and nursed him.

10When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”

10And the child grew, and she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he became to her as a son. And she called his name Moses and she said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

The Rejection and Flight of Moses

11One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.

11And it came to pass in those days, and Moses had grown, and he went out to his brothers and he saw in their burdens, and he saw a man, an Egyptian, striking a man, a Hebrew, from his brothers.

12After looking this way and that and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

12And he turned this way and that way, and he saw that there was no man, and he struck the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

13The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”

13And he went out on the second day, and behold, two men, Hebrews, were fighting. And he said to the wicked one, “Why do you strike your companion?”

14But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”

14And he said, “Who appointed you as a man—a ruler and a judge—over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” And Moses feared and said, “Surely the matter is known.”

15When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.

15And Pharaoh heard of this matter, and he sought to kill Moses. And Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and he dwelt in the land of Midian, and he sat down by the well.

16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.

16And the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water and they filled the troughs to water the flock of their father.

17And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help them and watered their flock.

17And the shepherds came and drove them away, and Moses arose and saved them, and he watered their flock.

18When the daughters returned to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

18And they came to Reuel their father, and he said, “Why have you returned so early today?”

19“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they replied. “He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

19And they said, “A man, an Egyptian, delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and also he has surely drawn water for us, and he watered the flock.”

20“So where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”

20And he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is this, that you have left the man? Call to him, and let him eat bread.”

21Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.

21And Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.

22And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”

22And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have become a sojourner in a foreign land.”

God Hears the Cry of the Israelites

23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.

23And it came to pass after those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out, and their cry went up to God because of the bondage.

24So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

24And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

25God saw the Israelites and took notice.

25And God saw the sons of Israel, and God knew.