The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi^(A) married a Levite woman,^{(B) 2} and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine^(C) child, she hid him for three months.^{(D) 3} But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus^(E) basket^[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch.^(F) Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds^(G) along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister^(H) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.

¹² Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”^(A)

¹⁴ The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?^(B) Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill^(C) Moses, but Moses fled^(D) from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian,^(E) where he sat down by a well. ¹⁶ Now a priest of Midian^(F) had seven daughters, and they came to draw water^(G) and fill the troughs^(H) to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue^(I) and watered their flock.^(J)

¹⁸ When the girls returned to Reuel^(K) their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

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

²⁰ “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”^(L)