Exodus 2
Contemporary English Version
Moses Is Born
2 A man from the Levi tribe married a woman from the same tribe, 2 (A) and she later had a baby boy. He was a beautiful child, and she kept him inside for three months. 3 But when she could no longer keep him hidden, she made a basket out of reeds and covered it with tar. She put him in the basket and placed it in the tall grass along the edge of the Nile River. 4 The baby's older sister[a] stood off at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 About that time one of the king's[b] daughters came down to take a bath in the river, while her servant women walked along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass and sent one of them to pull it out of the water. 6 When the king's daughter opened the basket, she saw the baby crying and felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”
7 At once the baby's older sister came up and asked, “Do you want me to get a Hebrew woman to take care of the baby for you?”
8 “Yes,” the king's daughter answered.
So the girl brought the baby's mother, 9 and the king's daughter told her, “Take care of this child, and I will pay you.”
The baby's mother carried him home and took care of him. 10 (B) And when he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses[c] because she said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
Moses Escapes from Egypt
11 (C)(D) 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 (E) When the king[d] 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,[e] 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,[f] since I am a foreigner in this country.”
23 After the death of the king of Egypt, the Israelites still complained because they were forced to be slaves. They cried out for help, 24 (F) and God heard their loud cries. He did not forget the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 25 and because he knew what was happening to his people, he felt sorry for them.
Footnotes
- 2.4 older sister: Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron.
- 2.5 the king's: See the note at 1.11.
- 2.10 Moses: In Hebrew “Moses” sounds like “pull out.”
- 2.15 the king: See the note at 1.11.
- 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.”
Exodus 2
New Century Version
Baby Moses
2 Now a man from the family of Levi married a woman who was also from the family of Levi. 2 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw how wonderful the baby was, she hid him for three months. 3 But after three months she was not able to hide the baby any longer, so she got a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar so that it would float. She put the baby in the basket. Then she put the basket among the tall stalks of grass at the edge of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister stood a short distance away to see what would happen to him.
5 Then the daughter of the king of Egypt came to the river to take a bath, and her servant girls were walking beside the river. When she saw the basket in the tall grass, she sent her slave girl to get it. 6 The king’s daughter opened the basket and saw the baby boy. He was crying, so she felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew babies.”
7 Then the baby’s sister asked the king’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?”
8 The king’s daughter said, “Go!” So the girl went and got the baby’s own mother.
9 The king’s daughter said to the woman, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took her baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, the woman took him to the king’s daughter, and she adopted the baby as her own son. The king’s daughter named him Moses,[a] because she had pulled him out of the water.
Moses Tries to Help
11 Moses grew and became a man. One day he visited his people and saw that they were forced to work very hard. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man, one of Moses’ own people. 12 Moses looked all around and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
13 The next day Moses returned and saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He said to the one that was in the wrong, “Why are you hitting one of your own people?”
14 The man answered, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Moses was afraid and thought, “Now everyone knows what I did.”
15 When the king heard what Moses had done, he tried to kill him. But Moses ran away from the king and went to live in the land of Midian. There he sat down near a well.
Moses in Midian
16 There was a priest in Midian who had seven daughters. His daughters went to that well to get water to fill the water troughs for their father’s flock. 17 Some shepherds came and chased the girls away, but Moses defended the girls and watered their flock.
18 When they went back to their father Reuel,[b] he asked them, “Why have you come home early today?”
19 The girls answered, “The shepherds chased us away, but an Egyptian defended us. He got water for us and watered our flock.”
20 He asked his daughters, “Where is this man? Why did you leave him? Invite him to eat with us.”
21 Moses agreed to stay with Jethro, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son. Moses named him Gershom,[c] because Moses was a stranger in a land that was not his own.
23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel groaned, because they were forced to work very hard. When they cried for help, God heard them. 24 God heard their cries, and he remembered the agreement he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He saw the troubles of the people of Israel, and he was concerned about them.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
