Exodus 2
Pharaoh’s Daughter Adopts Moses
1 A man from Levi’s family married a Levite woman.2 The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw how beautiful he was and hid him for three months.3 When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus plants and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in it and set it among the papyrus plants near the bank of the Nile River.
4 The baby’s sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 While Pharaoh’s daughter came to the Nile to take a bath, her servants walked along the bank of the river. She saw the basket among the papyrus plants and sent her slave girl to get it.
6 Pharaoh’s daughter opened the basket, looked at the baby, and saw it was a boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”
7 Then the baby’s sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”8 She answered, “Yes!” So the girl brought the baby’s mother.9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to the woman, “Take this child, nurse him for me, and I will pay you.”She took the child and nursed him.
10 When the child was old enough, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. Pharaoh’s daughter named him Moses [Pulled Out] and said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
Moses Commits Murder and Flees to Midian
11 In the course of time Moses grew up. Then he went to see his own people and watched them suffering under forced labor. He saw a Hebrew, one of his own people, being beaten by an Egyptian.
12 He looked all around, and when he didn’t see anyone, he beat the Egyptian to death and hid the body in the sand.
13 When Moses went there the next day, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. He asked the one who started the fight, “Why are you beating another Hebrew?”14 The man asked, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought that everyone knew what he had done.15 When Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he tried to have him killed. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian.One day, while Moses was sitting by a well,
Moses Marries Zipporah
16 seven daughters of the priest of Midian came. They drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s sheep.
17 But some shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses got up, came to their defense, and then watered their sheep.
18 When they came back to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you come home so early today?”19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from some shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the sheep.”20 Reuel asked his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man there? Go, invite him to supper.”21 Moses decided to stay with the man. So Reuel gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife.
22 She gave birth to a son. Moses named him Gershom [Foreigner], because he said, “I was a foreigner living in another country.”
The Israelites Pray to God During Their Suffering
23 After a long time passed, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites still groaned because they were slaves. So they cried out, and their cries for help went up to God.24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his promiset to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25 God saw the Israelites being oppressed and was concerned about them.
Exodus 2
Moses is born and grows up
1 A man from the Levi tribe married a woman from the same tribe, 2 and she later had a baby boy. He was a beautiful child, and she kept him inside for three months.t 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 River Nile.
4 The baby's elder sistert stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 About that time one of the king'st 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 the young women to pull it out of the water.
6 When the king's daughter opened the basket, she saw the baby and felt sorry for him because he was crying. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”
7 At once the baby's elder 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 And when he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Mosest because she said, “I pulled him out of the water.”tMoses escapes from Egypt
11 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.tt
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 as you killed that Egyptian?”
This frightened Moses because he was sure that people must have found out what had happened.
15 When the kingt heard what Moses had done, the king wanted to kill him. But Moses escaped and went to the land of Midian.t
One day, Moses was sitting there by a well, 16 when the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian,t 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,t 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 and God heard their loud cries. He did not forget the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,t 25 and because he knew what was happening to his people, he felt sorry for them.