Exodus 2
New American Standard Bible
The Birth of Moses
2 Now a man from (A)the house of Levi went and [a]married a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw [b]that he was [c](B)beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a (C)papyrus [d]basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child in it and set it among the (D)reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 (E)And his sister stood at a distance to [e]find out what would [f]happen to him.
5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down (F)to bathe at the Nile, with her female attendants walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the [g]basket among the reeds and sent her slave woman, and she brought it to her. 6 When she opened it, she [h]saw the child, and behold, the 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 a woman for you who is nursing from the Hebrew women, so that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the 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 drew him out of the water.”
11 Now it came about in those days, (H)when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his [j]fellow Hebrews and looked at their [k](I)hard labors; and (J)he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his [l]fellow Hebrews. 12 So he [m]looked this way and that, and when he saw that there was no one around, he (K)struck and killed the Egyptian, and hid [n]his body in the sand. 13 Now he went out (L)the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were [o]fighting with each other; and he said to the [p]offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 But he said, “(M)Who made you a [q]ruler and a judge over us? Do you [r]intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known!”
Moses Escapes to Midian
15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But (N)Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and [s]settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down (O)by a well.
16 Now (P)the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and (Q)they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but (R)Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. 18 When they came to their father (S)Reuel, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian saved us from [t]the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 So he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him [u]to have something to eat.” 21 And (T)Moses was willing to live 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 [v]Gershom, for he said, “I have been (W)a stranger in a foreign land.”
23 Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel (X)groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and (Y)their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. 24 So (Z)God heard their groaning; and God remembered (AA)His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 And (AB)God saw the sons of Israel, and God [w]took notice of them.
Footnotes
- Exodus 2:1 Lit took
- Exodus 2:2 Lit him that
- Exodus 2:2 Lit good
- Exodus 2:3 Or chest
- Exodus 2:4 Lit know
- Exodus 2:4 Lit be done
- Exodus 2:5 Or chest
- Exodus 2:6 Heb saw it, the child
- Exodus 2:10 Heb Mosheh, from a verb meaning to draw out
- Exodus 2:11 Lit brothers
- Exodus 2:11 Lit burdens
- Exodus 2:11 Lit brothers
- Exodus 2:12 Lit turned
- Exodus 2:12 Lit him
- Exodus 2:13 Or quarreling
- Exodus 2:13 Or the guilty one
- Exodus 2:14 Lit man, a ruler
- Exodus 2:14 Lit say
- Exodus 2:15 Lit dwelt
- Exodus 2:19 Lit the hand of the
- Exodus 2:20 Lit that he may eat bread
- Exodus 2:22 Cf. Heb ger sham, a stranger there
- Exodus 2:25 Lit knew them
Exodus 2
Lexham English Bible
The Birth and Early Life of Moses
2 And a man from the family[a] of Levi went, and he took a descendent of Levi.[b] 2 And the woman conceived, and she gave birth to a son, and she saw him, that he was a fine baby, and she hid him three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him, and she coated it with tar and with pitch, and she placed the boy in it, and she placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 And the daughter of Pharaoh went down to wash at the Nile, while her maidservants were walking alongside the Nile, and she saw the basket in the midst of the reeds, and she sent her slave woman for it and took it 6 and opened it and saw him—the boy—and it was a lad weeping, and she had compassion for him and said, “This must be from the boys of the Hebrews.”[c] 7 And his sister said to the daughter of Pharaoh, “Shall I go and call for you a woman from the Hebrews who is nursing so that she will nurse the boy for you?” 8 And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, “Go.” And the girl went, and she called the mother of the boy. 9 And the daughter of Pharaoh said, “Take this boy and nurse him for me, and I myself will give you wages, and the woman took the boy, and she nursed him. 10 And the boy grew, and she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he became her son, and she called his name Moses, and she said, “Because I drew him out from the water.”
11 And then[d] in those days when Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers, and he saw their forced labor,[e] and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, one of his brothers.[f] 12 And he turned here and there, and he saw no one,[g] and he struck the Egyptian, and he hid him in the sand. 13 And he went out on the second day, and there were two Hebrew men fighting, and he said to the guilty one, “Why do you strike your neighbor?” 14 And he said, “Who appointed you as a commander[h] and a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?” And Moses was afraid, and he said, “Surely the matter has become known.” 15 And Pharaoh heard this matter, and he sought to kill Moses, and Moses fled from Pharaoh, and he lived in the land of Midian, and he lived at a certain well.[i]
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.[j] 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and came to their rescue and watered their flock. 18 And they came to Reuel, their father, and he said, “Why have you come so quickly[k] today?” 19 And they said, “An Egyptian man delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 And he said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why then[l] have you left the man? Call him so that he can eat some food.”[m] 21 And Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. 22 And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom because he said, “I am an alien in a foreign land.”[n]
23 And then[o] during those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites[p] groaned because of the work, and they cried out, and their cry for help because of the work went up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, 25 and God saw the Israelites,[q] and God took notice.[r]
Footnotes
- Exodus 2:1 Literally “house”
- Exodus 2:1 Literally “daughter of Levi”
- Exodus 2:6 Each instance of the implied “she” in verses 5 and 6 is the daughter of Pharaoh
- Exodus 2:11 Literally “and he/it was”
- Exodus 2:11 Literally “burdens” or “burdensome labor”
- Exodus 2:11 Or “a Hebrew man from his brothers”
- Exodus 2:12 Literally “and he saw that there was not a man”
- Exodus 2:14 Literally “put you for a man, a commander” or “placed you for a man, a commander”
- Exodus 2:15 Literally “the well”
- Exodus 2:16 The Hebrew noun translated “flock” is used here and in verses 17 and 19 collectively for sheep or goats or a mix of the two
- Exodus 2:18 Literally “why did you hasten coming”
- Exodus 2:20 Literally “why this”
- Exodus 2:20 Literally “call to or “summon/invite” him and he will eat bread”
- Exodus 2:22 The word translated “alien” sounds like the first syllable in the name Gershom. The second syllable sounds like the word for “there”
- Exodus 2:23 Literally “and he/it was”
- Exodus 2:23 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 2:25 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 2:25 Or “and God knew”
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