摩西出生

有一個利未族人跟他同族的女子結婚。 那女子懷孕,生了一個男嬰。她看見孩子可愛,就把他藏了三個月。 後來無法再藏下去,她就拿來一個蒲草籃子,外面塗上防水的瀝青和柏油,然後把嬰兒放在裡面,又把籃子放在尼羅河邊的蘆葦叢中。 嬰兒的姐姐遠遠地站著,要看看她的弟弟究竟會怎樣。

這時,法老的女兒來到河邊沐浴,宮女們在河邊行走。公主發現了蘆葦叢中的籃子,便吩咐一個婢女去把它取來。 公主打開一看,原來是一個男嬰。公主看見孩子在哭,就可憐他,說:「他是希伯來人的孩子。」 嬰兒的姐姐對公主說:「我去找一個希伯來婦女當奶媽,為你哺養他好嗎?」 公主回答說:「好!」那女孩就跑去把嬰孩的母親帶來。 公主對那婦女說:「你把孩子抱去,替我哺養他,我會給你工錢。」她便把孩子抱去哺養。 10 孩子漸漸長大,她便把他帶到公主那裡,孩子就做了公主的兒子。公主給孩子取名叫摩西,意思是「我把他從水中拉了上來」。

11 後來,摩西長大了,他去看望做苦工的希伯來同胞,看見一個埃及人在毆打他的一個希伯來同胞。 12 他左右觀望,見四下無人,便下手殺了那埃及人,把屍體埋藏在沙地裡。 13 第二天,他又出去,看見兩個希伯來人在打架,便過去對理虧的人說:「你為什麼打自己的同胞呢?」 14 那人說:「你以為你是誰啊?誰立你做我們的首領和審判官?難道你要殺我,像殺那個埃及人一樣嗎?」摩西聽了,害怕起來,心想:「我做的事一定被人知道了。」 15 法老聽說這件事後,便想殺死摩西。摩西為了躲避法老,就逃到米甸居住。一天他坐在一口井旁, 16 米甸祭司的七個女兒來打水,要把水倒進槽裡飲她們父親的羊。 17 這時,來了另外一群牧人要把她們趕走。摩西便起來幫助她們,打水飲她們的羊群。 18 她們回到父親流珥[a]那裡,父親問她們:「你們今天怎麼這麼快就回來了?」 19 她們答道:「有一個埃及人救我們免遭牧人的欺負,還幫我們打水飲羊群。」 20 他又問女兒們:「現在那人在哪裡?你們怎麼可以丟下他不管呢?去請他來吃點東西。」 21 後來,摩西同意住在那人家裡。那人把女兒西坡拉許配給他。 22 後來,西坡拉生了一個兒子,摩西給他取名叫革舜,意思是「我成了在異鄉寄居的人」。

23 過了多年,埃及王死了。以色列人受盡奴役,就哀歎呼求,聲音傳到上帝那裡。 24 上帝聽見他們的哀聲,顧念從前跟亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各所立的約, 25 就垂顧他們,體恤他們。

Footnotes

  1. 2·18 流珥」又名「葉忒羅」。
'出 埃 及 記 2 ' not found for the version: Chinese New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version.

And there goeth a man of the house of Levi, and he taketh the daughter of Levi,

and the woman conceiveth, and beareth a son, and she seeth him that he [is] fair, and she hideth him three months,

and she hath not been able any more to hide him, and she taketh for him an ark of rushes, and daubeth it with bitumen and with pitch, and putteth the lad in it, and putteth [it] in the weeds by the edge of the River;

and his sister stationeth herself afar off, to know what is done to him.

And a daughter of Pharaoh cometh down to bathe at the River, and her damsels are walking by the side of the River, and she seeth the ark in the midst of the weeds, and sendeth her handmaid, and she taketh it,

and openeth, and seeth him -- the lad, and lo, a child weeping! and she hath pity on him, and saith, `This is [one] of the Hebrews' children.'

And his sister saith unto the daughter of Pharaoh, `Do I go? when I have called for thee a suckling woman of the Hebrews, then she doth suckle the lad for thee;'

and the daughter of Pharaoh saith to her, `Go;' and the virgin goeth, and calleth the mother of the lad,

and the daughter of Pharaoh saith to her, `Take this lad away, and suckle him for me, and I -- I give thy hire;' and the woman taketh the lad, and suckleth him.

10 And the lad groweth, and she bringeth him in to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he is to her for a son, and she calleth his name Moses, and saith, `Because -- from the water I have drawn him.'

11 And it cometh to pass, in those days, that Moses is grown, and he goeth out unto his brethren, and looketh on their burdens, and seeth a man, an Egyptian, smiting a man, a Hebrew, [one] of his brethren,

12 and he turneth hither and thither, and seeth that there is no man, and smiteth the Egyptian, and hideth him in the sand.

13 And he goeth out on the second day, and lo, two men, Hebrews, striving! and he saith to the wrong-doer, `Why dost thou smite thy neighbour?'

14 and he saith, `Who set thee for a head and a judge over us? to slay me art thou saying [it], as thou hast slain the Egyptian?' and Moses feareth, and saith, `Surely the thing hath been known.'

15 And Pharaoh heareth of this thing, and seeketh to slay Moses, and Moses fleeth from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelleth in the land of Midian, and dwelleth by the well.

16 And to a priest of Midian [are] seven daughters, and they come and draw, and fill the troughs, to water the flock of their father,

17 and the shepherds come and drive them away, and Moses ariseth, and saveth them, and watereth their flock.

18 And they come in to Reuel their father, and he saith, `Wherefore have ye hastened to come in to-day?'

19 and they say, `A man, an Egyptian, hath delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also hath diligently drawn for us, and watereth the flock;'

20 and he saith unto his daughters, `And where [is] he? why [is] this? -- ye left the man! call for him, and he doth eat bread.'

21 And Moses is willing to dwell with the man, and he giveth Zipporah his daughter to Moses,

22 and she beareth a son, and he calleth his name Gershom, for he said, `A sojourner I have been in a strange land.'

23 And it cometh to pass during these many days, that the king of Egypt dieth, and the sons of Israel sigh because of the service, and cry, and their cry goeth up unto God, because of the service;

24 and God heareth their groaning, and God remembereth His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob;

25 and God seeth the sons of Israel, and God knoweth.

The Birth of Moses

Now a man of the tribe of Levi(A) married a Levite woman,(B) and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine(C) child, she hid him for three months.(D) But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus(E) basket[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch.(F) Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds(G) along the bank of the Nile. His sister(H) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank.(I) She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named(J) him Moses,[b] saying, “I drew(K) him out of the water.”

Moses Flees to Midian

11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people(L) were and watched them at their hard labor.(M) He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”(N)

14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?(O) Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill(P) Moses, but Moses fled(Q) from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian,(R) where he sat down by a well. 16 Now a priest of Midian(S) had seven daughters, and they came to draw water(T) and fill the troughs(U) to water their father’s flock. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue(V) and watered their flock.(W)

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

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

20 “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”(Y)

21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah(Z) to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom,[c](AA) saying, “I have become a foreigner(AB) in a foreign land.”

23 During that long period,(AC) the king of Egypt died.(AD) The Israelites groaned in their slavery(AE) and cried out, and their cry(AF) for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered(AG) his covenant(AH) with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned(AI) about them.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 2:3 The Hebrew can also mean ark, as in Gen. 6:14.
  2. Exodus 2:10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out.
  3. Exodus 2:22 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there.