Exodus 2
Legacy Standard Bible
The Birth of Moses
2 And a man from (A)the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as a wife. 2 And the woman conceived and bore a son; and she saw [a]that he was [b](B)beautiful, so she hid him for three months. 3 But she could not hide him any longer. So she took for him [c]an (C)ark of papyrus reeds and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and put it among the (D)reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 (E)And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.
5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down (F)to bathe at the Nile, with her young women walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the [d]ark among the reeds and sent her maidservant, and she took it to her. 6 Then she opened it and [e]saw the child. And behold, the [f]boy was crying. And she had 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 [g]a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the [h]girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and (G)he became her son. And she named him [i]Moses and said, “Because I [j]drew him out of the water.”
Moses Flees to Midian
11 Now it happened in those days, (H)that Moses had grown up. And he went out to his brothers and looked on their [k](I)hard labors. And (J)he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brothers. 12 So he turned this way and that, and he saw that there was no one around. So he (K)struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 Then he went out (L)the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were struggling with each other; and he said to the [l]wicked one, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 But he said, “(M)Who made you a [m]ruler or a judge over us? Are you [n]intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.” 15 And Pharaoh heard of this matter, so he sought to kill Moses. But (N)Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he [o]sat down (O)by a well. 16 Now (P)the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and (Q)they came and drew water and filled the troughs to give water to their father’s flock to drink. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but (R)Moses rose up and saved them and gave water to their flock to drink. 18 Then they came to (S)Reuel their father, and he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” 19 So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he actually even drew the water for us and gave water to the flock to drink.” 20 And he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Call him so that he may eat bread.” 21 (T)And Moses was willing to settle down with the man, and he gave his daughter (U)Zipporah to Moses. 22 Then she gave birth to (V)a son, and he named him [p]Gershom, for he said, “I have been (W)a [q]sojourner in a foreign land.”
God Hears Israel’s Groaning
23 Now it happened in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel (X)sighed because of the slavery, and they cried out; and (Y)their cry for help because of their slavery rose up to God. 24 So (Z)God heard their groaning; and God remembered (AA)His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 (AB)And God saw the sons of Israel, and God knew them.
Footnotes
- Exodus 2:2 Lit him that
- Exodus 2:2 Lit good
- Exodus 2:3 Or a basket
- Exodus 2:5 Or basket
- Exodus 2:6 Lit saw it, the child
- Exodus 2:6 Or lad
- Exodus 2:7 Lit a woman giving suck
- Exodus 2:8 Or virgin
- Exodus 2:10 Heb Mosheh, related to mashah; lit to draw out
- Exodus 2:10 Heb mashah
- Exodus 2:11 Lit burdens
- Exodus 2:13 Or the guilty one
- Exodus 2:14 Lit man, a prince
- Exodus 2:14 Lit saying in your heart
- Exodus 2:15 Lit settled, cf. 2:15a, 21
- Exodus 2:22 Lit a stranger there
- Exodus 2:22 Heb ger
Exodus 2
Common English Bible
Moses’ birth
2 Now a man from Levi’s household married a Levite woman. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that the baby was healthy and beautiful, so she hid him for three months. 3 When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a reed basket and sealed it up with black tar. She put the child in the basket and set the basket among the reeds at the riverbank. 4 The baby’s older sister stood watch nearby to see what would happen to him.
5 Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, while her women servants walked along beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds, and she sent one of her servants to bring it to her. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child. The boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children.”
7 Then the baby’s sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”
8 Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, “Yes, do that.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I’ll pay you for your work.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10 After the child had grown up, she brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I pulled him out[a] of the water.”
Moses runs away to Midian
11 One day after Moses had become an adult, he went out among his people and he saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 He looked around to make sure no one else was there. Then he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13 When Moses went out the next day, he saw two Hebrew men fighting with each other. Moses said to the one who had started the fight, “Why are you abusing your fellow Hebrew?”
14 He replied, “Who made you a boss or judge over us? Are you planning to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?”
Then Moses was afraid when he realized: They obviously know what I did. 15 When Pharaoh heard about it, he tried to kill Moses.
But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and settled down in the land of Midian. One day Moses was sitting by a well. 16 Now there was a Midianite priest who had seven daughters. The daughters came to draw water and fill the troughs so that their father’s flock could drink. 17 But some shepherds came along and rudely chased them away. Moses got up, rescued the women, and gave their flock water to drink.
18 When they went back home to their father Reuel,[b] he asked, “How were you able to come back home so soon today?”
19 They replied, “An Egyptian man rescued us from a bunch of shepherds. Afterward, he even helped us draw water to let the flock drink.”
20 Reuel said to his daughters, “So where is he? Why did you leave this man? Invite him to eat a meal with us.”
21 Moses agreed to come and live with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife. 22 She gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, “because,” he said, “I’ve been an immigrant[c] living in a foreign land.”
23 A long time passed, and the Egyptian king died. The Israelites were still groaning because of their hard work. They cried out, and their cry to be rescued from the hard work rose up to God. 24 God heard their cry of grief, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God looked at the Israelites, and God understood.
Footnotes
- Exodus 2:10 Heb mashah sounds like Moses (moshe).
- Exodus 2:18 Also called Jethro
- Exodus 2:22 Heb ger sounds like Gershom.
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