Exodus 2:11-22

Contemporary English Version

Moses Escapes from Egypt

^11 (A)(B) After Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were hard at work, and he saw an Egyptian beating one of them. ¹² Moses looked around to see if anyone was watching, then he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

¹³ When Moses went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting. So he went to the man who had started the fight and asked, “Why are you beating up one of your own people?”

¹⁴ The man answered, “Who put you in charge of us and made you our judge? Are you planning to kill me, just like you killed that Egyptian?”

This frightened Moses because he was sure that people must have found out what had happened. ^15 (C) When the king^[a] heard what Moses had done, he wanted to kill him. But Moses escaped and went to the land of Midian.

One day, when Moses was sitting by a well, ¹⁶ the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian,^[b] came up to water their father's sheep and goats. ¹⁷ Some shepherds tried to chase them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their animals. ¹⁸ When Jethro's daughters returned home, their father asked, “Why have you come back so early today?”

¹⁹ They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds, and he even watered our sheep and goats.”

²⁰ “Where is he?” Jethro asked. “Why did you leave him out there? Invite him to eat with us.”

²¹ Moses agreed to stay on with Jethro, who later let his daughter Zipporah marry Moses. ²² And when she had a son, Moses said, “I will name him Gershom,^[c] since I am a foreigner in this country.”