Exodus 2:16-25

Contemporary English Version

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

¹⁹They 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.”

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

²³After the death of the king of Egypt, the Israelites still complained because they were forced to be slaves. They cried out for help, ²⁴^(A) and God heard their loud cries. He did not forget the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ²⁵and because he knew what was happening to his people, he felt sorry for them.

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Footnotes

2.16 Jethro, the priest of Midian: Hebrew “the priest of Midian.” But see 3.1; 4.18; 18.1,2-4 where his name is given. In the Hebrew of verse 18 he is spoken of as “Reuel,” which may have been the name of the tribe to which Jethro belonged.
2.22 Gershom: In Hebrew “Gershom” sounds like “foreigner.”