2 Now [Amram] a man of the house of Levi [the priestly tribe] went and took as his wife [Jochebed] a daughter of Levi.^(A)

² And the woman became pregnant and bore a son; and when she saw that he was [exceedingly] beautiful, she hid him three months.^(B)

³ And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark or basket made of bulrushes or papyrus [making it watertight by] daubing it with bitumen and pitch. Then she put the child in it and laid it among the rushes by the brink of the river [Nile].

⁴ And his sister [Miriam] stood some distance away to ^[a]learn what would be done to him.

⁵ Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked along the bank; she saw the ark among the rushes and sent her maid to fetch it.

⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child; and behold, the baby cried. And she took pity on him and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children!

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

⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the girl went and called the child’s mother.

⁹ Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. So the woman took the child and nursed it.

¹⁰ And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she called him Moses, for she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

¹¹ One day, after Moses was grown, it happened that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of [Moses’] brethren.

¹² He looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

¹³ He went out the second day and saw two Hebrew men quarreling and fighting; and he said to the unjust aggressor, Why are you striking your comrade?

¹⁴ And the man said, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid and thought, Surely this thing is known.

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh’s presence and ^[b]took refuge in the land of Midian, where he sat down by a well.

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

¹⁷ The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.

¹⁸ And when they came to Reuel [Jethro] their father, he said, How is it that you have come so soon today?

¹⁹ They said, An Egyptian delivered us from the shepherds; also he drew water for us and watered the flock.

²⁰ He said to his daughters, Where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.

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

²² And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom [expulsion, or a stranger there]; for he said, I have been a stranger and a sojourner in a foreign land.

²³ However, after a long time [nearly forty years] the king of Egypt died; and the Israelites were sighing and groaning because of the bondage. They kept crying, and their cry because of slavery ascended to God.

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

²⁵ God saw the Israelites and took knowledge of them and concerned Himself about them [knowing all, understanding, remembering all].^(C)

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites [the king’s bodyguards] went down and caused Solomon to ride upon King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon.

³⁹ Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of the tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet and all the people said, Long live King Solomon!

⁴⁰ All the people followed him; they played on pipes and rejoiced greatly, so that the earth [resounded] with the joyful sound.

⁴¹ And Adonijah and all the guests with him heard it as they finished feasting. When Joab heard the trumpet sound, he said, What does this uproar in the city mean?

⁴² While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, Come in, for you are a trustworthy man and bring good news.

⁴³ Jonathan replied, Adonijah, truly our lord King David has made Solomon king!

⁴⁴ The king has sent him with Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule.

⁴⁵ Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon; they have come up from there rejoicing, so the city resounds. This is the noise you heard.

⁴⁶ Solomon sits on the royal throne.

⁴⁷ Moreover, the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, May God make the name of Solomon better than your name and make his throne greater than your throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed

⁴⁸ And said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, Who has granted me to see one of my offspring sitting on my throne this day.

⁴⁹ And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid and rose up and went every man his way.

⁵⁰ And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose and went [to the tabernacle tent on Mt. Zion] and caught hold of the horns of the altar [as a fugitive’s refuge].

⁵¹ And it was told Solomon, Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has caught hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not slay his servant with the sword.

⁵² Solomon said, If he will show himself to be a worthy man, not a hair of him shall fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.

⁵³ So King Solomon sent, and they brought Adonijah down from the altar [in front of the tabernacle]. He came and bowed himself to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.

¹² Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you.

¹³ But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory [full of radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph [exultantly].

¹⁴ If you are censured and suffer abuse [because you bear] the name of Christ, blessed [are you—happy, fortunate, ^[a]to be envied, ^[b]with life-joy, and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of your outward condition], because the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God, is resting upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.^(A)

¹⁵ But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or any sort of criminal, or as a mischief-maker (a meddler) in the affairs of others [infringing on their rights].

¹⁶ But if [one is ill-treated and suffers] as a Christian [which he is contemptuously called], let him not be ashamed, but give glory to God that he is [deemed worthy to suffer] in this name.

¹⁷ For the time [has arrived] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will [be] the end of those who do not respect or believe or obey the good news (the Gospel) of God?

¹⁸ And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the godless and wicked?^(B)

¹⁹ Therefore, those who are ill-treated and suffer in accordance with God’s will must do right and commit their souls [in charge as a deposit] to the One Who created [them] and will never fail [them].