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
New Living Translation
The Birth of Moses
2 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.
5 Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. 6 When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.
7 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.
8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.
9 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.
10 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses,[a] for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”
Moses Escapes to Midian
11 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.
13 The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. “Why are you beating up your friend?” Moses said to the one who had started the fight.
14 The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”
Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.” 15 And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.
When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. 17 But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks.
18 When the girls returned to Reuel, their father, he asked, “Why are you back so soon today?”
19 “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered. “And then he drew water for us and watered our flocks.”
20 “Then where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave him there? Invite him to come and eat with us.”
21 Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. 22 Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom,[b] for he explained, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”
23 Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.[c]
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