Exodus 1

Blessing during Bondage in Egypt

1 s Theset are the namess of the sons of Israelt who entered Egypt – each man with his householdt entered with Jacob:2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.5 All the peoplet who were directly descendedt from Jacob numbered seventy.s But Joseph was already in Egypt,t6 and in timet Josephts and his brothers and all that generation died.

7 The Israelites,t however,t were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong,ts so that the land was filled with them.
8 Then a new king,s who did not know aboutt Joseph, came to powert over Egypt.9 He saidt to his people, “Look att the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are!

10 Come, let’s deal wiselyts with them. Otherwiset they will continue to multiply,t and ift a war breaks out, they will ally themselves witht our enemies and fight against us and leavet the country.”
11 So they put forement over the Israelitest to oppresss them with hard labor. As a resultt they built Pithom and Ramesess as store cities for Pharaoh.12 But the more the Egyptianst oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread.ts As a result the Egyptians loathedt the Israelites,13 and theyt made the Israelites serve rigorously.t

14 They made their lives bitters byt hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of servicet in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous.t
15 The king of Egypt saidt to the Hebrew midwives,s one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,t16 t “When you assistt the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery:t If it is a son, kill him,s but if it is a daughter, she may live.”t

17 Butt the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.t
18 Then the king of Egypt summonedt the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?”t19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrews women are not like the Egyptian women – for the Hebrew woment are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!”ts20 So God treated the midwives well,t and the people multiplied and became very strong.

21 And because the midwives feared God, he madet householdst for them.

22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “All sonst that are born you must throwt into the river, but all daughters you may let live.”ts

Exodus 2

The Birth of the Deliverer

1 s A man from the householdt of Levi marriedt a woman who was a descendant of Levi.ts2 The woman became pregnantt and gave birth to a son. Whent she saw thatt he was a healthyt child, she hid him for three months.3 But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus baskets for him and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile.s

4 His sister stationed herselft at a distance to find outt what wouldt happen to him.
5 Then the daughter of Pharaohs came down to wash herselft by the Nile, while her attendants were walking alongside the river,s and she saw the basket among the reeds. She sent one of her attendants,t took it,t

6 opened it,t and saw the childt – a boy,t crying!t – and she felt compassiont for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and gets a nursing womant for you from the Hebrews, so that she may nursets the child for you?”8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes, do so.”t So the young girls went and gott the child’s mother.s

9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this childt and nurse him for me, and I will pay yourt wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

10 When the child grew oldert she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.t She named him Moses, saying, “Because I drew him from the water.”s

The Presumption of the Deliverer

11 s In those days,s whent Moses had grown up, he went out to his peoplet and observedts their hard labor, and he saw an Egyptian man attackingt a Hebrew man, one of his own people.t12 He looked this way and thatt and saw that no one was there,t and then he attackeds the Egyptian and concealed the bodyt in the sand.

13 When he went outt the next day,t there weret two Hebrew men fighting. So he said to the one who was in the wrong,t “Why are you attackingt your fellow Hebrew?”s
14 The mant replied, “Who made you a rulert and a judge over us? Are you planningt to kill me like you killed thatt Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking,t “Surely what I didt has become known.”

15 When Pharaoh heardt about this event,t he sought to kill Moses. So Moses fledt from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian,s and he settledt by a certain well.t
16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and began to drawt watert and fillt the troughs in order to water their father’s flock.17 When somet shepherds came and drove them away,ts Moses came up and defended thems and then watered their flock.18 So when they came homet to their father Reuel,s he asked, “Why have you come home so earlyts today?”19 They said, “An Egyptian man rescued uss from the shepherds,t and he actuallyt drew water for us and watered the flock!”

20 He saidt to his daughters, “So where is he?t Why in the worldt did you leave the man? Call him, so that he may eatt a mealt with us.”
21 Moses agreedt to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.t

22 When she boret a son, Mosest named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become a resident foreigner in a foreign land.”s

The Call of the Deliverer

23 s Duringt that long period of timet the king of Egypt died, and the Israelitest groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cryt because of their slave labor went up to God.24 God heard their groaning,s God remembereds his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob,

25 God sawt the Israelites, and God understood….t

Exodus 3

1 Now Mosess was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desertt and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.s2 The angel of the Lords appearedt to him int a flame of fire from within a bush.s He lookedt – andt the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed!t3 So Moses thought,t “I will turn aside to seet this amazingt sight. Why does the bush not burn up?”t4 When the Lordt saw thatt he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”s And Mosest said, “Here I am.”5 Godt said, “Do not approach any closer!s Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holys ground.”t

6 He added, “I am the God of your father,s the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to lookt at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have surely seent the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.s8 I have come downs to deliver themt from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious,t to a land flowing with milk and honey,t to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.t9 And now indeedt the cryt of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them.t

10 So now go, and I will send youts to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11 Moses saidt to God,s “Who am I, that I should got to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 He replied,t “Surely I will be with you,ts and this will be the signs to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will servets God on this mountain.”

13 Moses saidt to God, “Ift I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’s – what should I sayt to them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am that I am.”t And he said, “You must say thist to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘The Lords – the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you. This is my names forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation.’t
16 “Go and bring togethert the elders of Israel and tell them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers,s appearedt to me – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – saying, “I have attended carefullyts to you and to what has been donet to you in Egypt,

17 and I have promisedt that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,t to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
18 “The elderst will listent to you, and then you and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has mett with us. So now, let us gots three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrificet to the Lord our God.’19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go,t not even under force.s

20 So I will extend my hands and strike Egypt with all my wonderst that I will do among them, and after that he will release you.s
21 “I will grant this people favor witht the Egyptians, so that whent you depart you will not leave empty-handed.

22 Everyt woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be stayingt in her house for items of silver and goldt and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters – thus you will plunder Egypt!”s