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The Birth of Moses

And a man from (A)the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as a wife. 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. 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. (E)And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.

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. 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.” 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?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the [h]girl went and called the child’s mother. 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

  1. Exodus 2:2 Lit him that
  2. Exodus 2:2 Lit good
  3. Exodus 2:3 Or a basket
  4. Exodus 2:5 Or basket
  5. Exodus 2:6 Lit saw it, the child
  6. Exodus 2:6 Or lad
  7. Exodus 2:7 Lit a woman giving suck
  8. Exodus 2:8 Or virgin
  9. Exodus 2:10 Heb Mosheh, related to mashah; lit to draw out
  10. Exodus 2:10 Heb mashah
  11. Exodus 2:11 Lit burdens
  12. Exodus 2:13 Or the guilty one
  13. Exodus 2:14 Lit man, a prince
  14. Exodus 2:14 Lit saying in your heart
  15. Exodus 2:15 Lit settled, cf. 2:15a, 21
  16. Exodus 2:22 Lit a stranger there
  17. Exodus 2:22 Heb ger

The Birth of Moses

Now a man from the house of Levi went and took a Levite woman as a wife. The woman became pregnant and bore a son. When she saw that he was a special[a] child, she hid him for three months. When she was no longer able to hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the child into it and placed it in the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the bank of the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant girl to get it. She opened it and saw the child. It was a boy, and he was crying. She felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.”

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a wet nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”

Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes, go.”

So the young woman went and called the child’s mother to come. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay you for doing it.”

So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, with the explanation, “Because I drew him up out of the water.”[b]

Moses Flees to Midian

11 After some time, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 After he looked this way and that, and he saw that no one was there, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

13 The next day when he went out, he came upon two Hebrew men who were fighting. He said to the one in the wrong, “Why were you striking your fellow Hebrew?”

14 The man said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Are you planning to kill me just as you killed the Egyptian?”

Moses was afraid and thought, “What I have done has definitely become known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he sought to kill Moses. Moses, however, fled from Pharaoh’s presence and went to live in the land of Midian. There he sat down by a well.

16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came and started drawing water. They filled the troughs to water their father’s flock, 17 but some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses, however, stood up and helped them. He then watered their flock. 18 When the daughters came to Reuel, their father, he said, “Why have you returned so early today?”

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

20 Reuel said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why have you left the man there? Invite him to have something to eat.”

21 Moses agreed to stay with the man. The man gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as a wife. 22 She gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become an alien[c] living in a foreign land.”

God Hears Israel’s Groaning

23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their slavery. They cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 So God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel, and God watched over them.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 2:2 Literally good
  2. Exodus 2:10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew verb for draw up.
  3. Exodus 2:22 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for an alien there.