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
International Standard Version
Moses is Born
2 A man of the family of Levi married the daughter of a descendant of Levi. 2 Later, the woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a beautiful[a] child, and hid him for three months. 3 But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus container, coated it with asphalt and pitch, placed the child in it, and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 Then his sister positioned herself some distance away in order to find out what would happen to him.
Pharaoh’s Daughter Adopts Moses
5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile River[b] to bathe while her maids walked along the river bank. She saw the container among the reeds and sent a servant girl to get it. 6 When she opened it and saw the child, the little boy suddenly began crying. Filled with compassion for him, she exclaimed, “This is one of the Hebrew children!”
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the nursing Hebrew women so she can nurse the child for you?”
8 Pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Go,” so the young girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter instructed her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I’ll pay you a salary.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 After the child had grown older,[c] she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses,[d] because she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Moses Kills an Egyptian
11 Years later, after[e] Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people,[f] and took notice of their heavy burdens. He saw an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew, one of his own people.[g] 12 Looking around and seeing no one else, he killed[h] the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 Going out the next day, Moses noticed[i] two Hebrew men fighting right in front of him. He told the one who was at fault, “Why did you strike your companion?”
14 The man[j] replied, “Who appointed you to be an official judge over us? Are you planning[k] to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?”
Then Moses became terrified and told himself,[l] “Certainly this event has become known!”
Moses Flees to Midian
15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. So Moses fled from Pharaoh, settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well. 16 Meanwhile, the seven daughters of a certain Midianite priest would come to draw water in order to fill water troughs for their father’s sheep. 17 Some shepherds came to drive them away, but Moses got up, came to their rescue, and watered their sheep. 18 When they returned to their father Reuel,[m] he asked, “Why have you returned so quickly today?”
19 “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,”[n] they replied, “and he even drew water for us and watered the sheep!”
20 “Then where is he?” He asked his daughters. “Why did you leave the man behind? Go invite him to have something to eat.”[o]
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.[p] 22 Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses[q] named him Gershom,[r] because he used to say, “I became an alien in a foreign land.”
The Israelis Cry Out to God
23 The king of Egypt eventually[s] died, and the Israelis groaned because of the bondage. They cried out, and their cry for deliverance from slavery ascended to God. 24 God heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God watched the Israelis and took notice of them.
Footnotes
- Exodus 2:2 Or good
- Exodus 2:5 The Heb. lacks River
- Exodus 2:10 The Heb. lacks older
- Exodus 2:10 The Heb. name Moses sounds like the Heb. verb draw out
- Exodus 2:11 Lit. It happened in those days that
- Exodus 2:11 Lit. brothers
- Exodus 2:11 Lit. brothers
- Exodus 2:12 Lit. struck
- Exodus 2:13 The Heb. lacks noticed
- Exodus 2:14 Lit. He
- Exodus 2:14 Lit. saying
- Exodus 2:14 The Heb. lacks to himself
- Exodus 2:18 I.e. another name for Jethro
- Exodus 2:19 Lit. the hand of the shepherds
- Exodus 2:20 Lit. to eat bread
- Exodus 2:21 The Heb. lacks in marriage
- Exodus 2:22 Lit. he
- Exodus 2:22 Gershom sounds like Heb. for alien
- Exodus 2:23 Lit. It happened after those many days that the king of Egypt
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