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 Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Birth and Youth of Moses
2 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman.(A) 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months.(B) 3 When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4 His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.(C)
5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,” she said. 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes.” 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 will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses,[a] “because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”(D)
Moses Flees to Midian
11 One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.(E) 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting, and he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?”(F) 14 He answered, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “Surely the thing is known.”(G) 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses.
So Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian and sat down by a well.(H) 16 The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defense and watered their flock.(I) 18 When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come back so soon today?”(J) 19 They said, “An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to share a meal.”(K) 21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage.(L) 22 She bore a son, and he named him Gershom,[b] for he said, “I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.”(M)
23 After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery and cried out. Their cry for help rose up to God from their slavery.(N) 24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.(O) 25 God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.(P)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.