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The birth of Moses

2 At this time, there was an Israelite man who belonged to the family of Levi. He married a woman who was also a descendant of Levi. ² The woman became pregnant and she gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a beautiful boy. So she hid him for three months. ³ Then she could not continue to hide him. So she took a basket that was made from river grass. She painted the basket with tar, to keep the water out of it. Then she put her baby in the basket. She put the basket among the reeds at the edge of the river. ^{[ a ]}

⁴ The baby's sister stood not very far away. She wanted to see what would happen to the baby.

⁵ Soon, Pharaoh's daughter came to wash herself in the river. Her servant girls were walking near the edge of the river. Pharaoh's daughter saw the basket among the river grasses. So she sent one of her servant girls to fetch it for her. ⁶ When she opened the basket, she saw the baby boy. He was crying. She was sorry for him and she said, ‘This is one of the Israelite children.’

⁷ Then the baby's sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, ‘Do you want me to fetch one of the Israelite mothers? She can take care of this baby and she can feed him for you.’ ⁸ Pharaoh's daughter said, ‘Yes, please do that.’

So the girl went and she fetched the baby's own mother. ⁹ Pharaoh's daughter said to the baby's mother, ‘Please take this baby to your house. You can take care of him for me. I will pay you to do this.’ So the woman took the baby home and she took care of him.

¹⁰ When the baby was older, his mother took him to Pharaoh's daughter. He now became her son. She gave him the name ‘Moses’. She said, ‘I will call him Moses because I pulled him out of the water.’ ^{[ b ]}

Moses runs away to Midian

¹¹ Many years later, Moses grew to become a man. At that time, he went out to visit his own people, the Israelites. He saw that they had to do very hard work without any rest. He saw an Egyptian man. He was attacking an Israelite man. The Egyptian was hitting someone from Moses' own country! ¹² Moses looked in every direction. He saw that nobody was near. So Moses killed the Egyptian. He buried his body in the sand to hide it.

¹³ The next day, Moses went out again to visit his people. He saw that two Israelite men were fighting each other. Moses said to the guilty man, ‘Why are you attacking your friend, who is an Israelite like you?’ ^{[ c ]}

¹⁴ The man answered, ‘You do not have authority over us! You cannot judge us! Do you want to kill me, as you killed that Egyptian man?’ Then Moses was afraid. He said to himself, ‘People must know what I have done!’

¹⁵ Pharaoh heard about what had happened. He wanted to kill Moses. So Moses ran away from Pharaoh. He went from Egypt to the country called Midian and he lived there. ^{[ d ]}

One day, Moses sat down by a well which was near where he lived.

¹⁶ There was a priest in Midian who had seven daughters. Those seven young women came to get water out of the well. They used the water to fill the places where the animals drink. Then their father's sheep and goats could drink there. ¹⁷ But some shepherds then arrived at the well. They made the girls go away. So Moses stood up and he went to help the young women. He gave water to their animals. ^{[ e ]}

¹⁸ Then the girls went back home to Reuel, their father. He asked them, ‘Why have you come home so soon today?’ ¹⁹ They answered, ‘An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds. He even took water from the well and he gave it to our animals.’ ²⁰ Reuel said to his daughters, ‘So where is the man? You should not have left him there. Ask him to come here so that he can eat a meal with us.’

²¹ Moses agreed to stay with Reuel. Reuel gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife. ²² Later, Zipporah gave birth to a son for Moses. Moses gave the boy the name ‘Gershom’. He called him that because he said, ‘I am living as a stranger in a foreign country.’ ^{[ f ]}

²³ After a long time had passed, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites were still slaves of the Egyptians. That made them very sad and they complained loudly. God heard them when they cried for help. ²⁴ He thought about his promise to take care of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants. ²⁵ God saw what was happening to the Israelites. He knew that he must help them. ^{[ g ]}

Footnotes

2:3 The Israelite woman did not want her beautiful baby to die. She would not let the Egyptians throw him into the river. She believed that God would keep her baby safe.
2:10 Moses became like a son to Pharaoh's daughter. He grew to become a man in Pharaoh's house. God had important things for Moses to do in future times.
2:13 Moses was very angry because of what he saw. He was angry because of what the Egyptians were doing to the Israelites. He also saw one of his own people who was attacking another Israelite. Moses did not like it when people tried to hurt each other.
2:15 Midian was a country about 300 kilometres to the east of Egypt. It was also about 300 kilometres south of Canaan.
2:17 The shepherds were not kind to the daughters of the priest of Midian. But Moses was kind to them. He chased the shepherds away.
2:22 In the Hebrew language, ‘Gershom’ sounds like ‘a foreign person’. Moses remembered that he belonged to the Israelite people. He did not belong to Egypt or to Midian. Reuel's daughters had thought that Moses was an Egyptian. This was because he was wearing Egyptian clothes. Moses was happy to have a place in Reuel's family. He was happy to marry Zipporah and to have a son.
2:25 Now the king was dead. So the Israelites hoped that things would get better. But they could not help themselves. Only God could help them.

Baby Moses

2 There was a man from the family of Levi who decided to marry a woman from the tribe of Levi. ^{[ a ]} ² She became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. The mother saw how beautiful the baby was and hid him for three months. ³ She hid him for as long as she could. After three months she made a basket and covered it with tar so that it would float. Then she put the baby in the basket and put the basket in the river in the tall grass. ⁴ The baby’s sister stayed and watched to see what would happen to the baby.

⁵ Just then, Pharaoh’s daughter went to the river to bathe. She saw the basket in the tall grass. Her servants were walking beside the river, so she told one of them to go get the basket. ⁶ The king’s daughter opened the basket and saw a baby boy. The baby was crying and she felt sorry for him. Then she noticed that it was one of the Hebrew ^{[ b ]} babies.

⁷ The baby’s sister was still hiding. She stood and asked the king’s daughter, “Do you want me to go find a Hebrew woman who can nurse the baby and help you care for it?”

⁸ The king’s daughter said, “Yes, please.”

So the girl went and brought the baby’s own mother.

⁹ The king’s daughter said to the mother, “Take this baby and feed him for me. I’ll pay you to take care of him.”

So the woman took her baby and cared for him. ¹⁰ The baby grew, and after some time, the woman gave the baby to the king’s daughter. The king’s daughter accepted the baby as her own son. She named him Moses ^{[ c ]} because she had pulled him from the water.

Moses Helps His People

¹¹ Moses grew and became a man. He saw that his own people, the Hebrews, were forced to work very hard. One day he saw an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man. ¹² Moses looked around and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.

¹³ The next day Moses saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He saw that one man was wrong and said to him, “Why are you hurting your neighbor?”

¹⁴ The man answered, “Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge? Tell me, will you kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday ^{[ d ]} ?”

Then Moses was afraid. He thought to himself, “Now everyone knows what I did.”

¹⁵ Pharaoh heard about what Moses did, so he decided to kill him. But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian.

Moses in Midian

Moses stopped near a well in Midian. ¹⁶ There was a priest there who had seven daughters. These girls came to that well to get water for their father’s sheep. They were trying to fill the water trough with water. ¹⁷ But there were some shepherds there who chased the girls away and would not let them get water. So Moses helped the girls and gave water to their animals.

¹⁸ Then they went back to their father, Reuel. ^{[ e ]} He asked them, “Why have you come home early today?”

¹⁹ The girls answered, “The shepherds chased us away, but an Egyptian rescued us. He got water for us and gave it to our animals.”

²⁰ So Reuel said to his daughters, “Where is this man? Why did you leave him? Go invite him to eat with us.”

²¹ Moses was happy to stay with that man. Reuel let Moses marry his daughter, Zipporah. ²² Zipporah became pregnant and had a son. Moses named him Gershom ^{[ f ]} because Moses was a stranger in a land that was not his own.

God Decides to Help Israel

²³ A long time passed and that king of Egypt died. But the Israelites were still forced to work very hard. They cried for help, and God heard them. ²⁴ God heard their painful cries and remembered the agreement he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁵ God saw the troubles of the Israelites, and he knew that he would soon help them.

Footnotes

Exodus 2:1 woman … Levi Literally, “the daughter of Levi.” See Ex. 6:20; Num. 26:59.
Exodus 2:6 Hebrew Or “Israelite.” Also in verses 7, 11, 13.
Exodus 2:10 Moses This name is like a Hebrew word meaning “to pull or draw out.”
Exodus 2:14 yesterday This word is from the ancient Greek version.
Exodus 2:18 Reuel He is also called Jethro.
Exodus 2:22 Gershom This name is like the Hebrew words meaning “a stranger there.”

2 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

² And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

³ And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.

⁴ And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

⁵ And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

⁶ And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.

⁷ Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

⁸ And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.

⁹ And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.

¹⁰ And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

¹¹ And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

¹² And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

¹³ And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

¹⁴ And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.

¹⁵ Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

¹⁶ Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.

¹⁷ And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

¹⁸ And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

¹⁹ And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.

²⁰ And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.

²¹ And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

²² And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

²³ And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

²⁴ And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

²⁵ And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man from ^{( A )} the house of Levi went and ^{[ a ]} married a daughter of Levi. ² And the woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw ^{[ b ]} that he was ^{[ c ]} ^{( B )} beautiful, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a ^{( C )} papyrus ^{[ d ]} basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child in it and set it among the ^{( D )} reeds by the bank of the Nile. ⁴ ^{( E )} And his sister stood at a distance to ^{[ e ]} find out what would ^{[ f ]} happen to him.

⁵ Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down ^{( F )} to bathe at the Nile, with her female attendants walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the ^{[ g ]} basket among the reeds and sent her slave woman, and she brought it to her . ⁶ When she opened it , she ^{[ h ]} saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a woman for you who is nursing from the Hebrew women, so that she may nurse the child for you?” ⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead .” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹ Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and ^{( G )} he became her son. And she named him ^{[ i ]} Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

¹¹ Now it came about in those days, ^{( H )} when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his ^{[ j ]} fellow Hebrews and looked at their ^{[ k ]} ^{( I )} hard labors; and ^{( J )} he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his ^{[ l ]} fellow Hebrews. ¹² So he ^{[ m ]} looked this way and that, and when he saw that there was no one around , he ^{( K )} struck and killed the Egyptian, and hid ^{[ n ]} his body in the sand. ¹³ Now he went out ^{( L )} the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were ^{[ o ]} fighting with each other; and he said to the ^{[ p ]} offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” ¹⁴ But he said, “ ^{( M )} Who made you a ^{[ q ]} ruler and a judge over us? Do you ^{[ r ]} intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known!”

Moses Escapes to Midian

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But ^{( N )} Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and ^{[ s ]} settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down ^{( O )} by a well.

¹⁶ Now ^{( P )} the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and ^{( Q )} they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but ^{( R )} Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. ¹⁸ When they came to their father ^{( S )} Reuel, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” ¹⁹ They said, “An Egyptian saved us from ^{[ t ]} the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” ²⁰ So he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him ^{[ u ]} to have something to eat.” ²¹ And ^{( T )} Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter ^{( U )} Zipporah to Moses. ²² Then she gave birth to ^{( V )} a son, and he named him ^{[ v ]} Gershom, for he said, “I have been ^{( W )} a stranger in a foreign land.”

²³ Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel ^{( X )} groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and ^{( Y )} their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. ²⁴ So ^{( Z )} God heard their groaning; and God remembered ^{( AA )} His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁵ And ^{( AB )} God saw the sons of Israel, and God ^{[ w ]} took notice of them .

Footnotes

Exodus 2:1 Lit took
Exodus 2:2 Lit him that
Exodus 2:2 Lit good
Exodus 2:3 Or chest
Exodus 2:4 Lit know
Exodus 2:4 Lit be done
Exodus 2:5 Or chest
Exodus 2:6 Heb saw it, the child
Exodus 2:10 Heb Mosheh , from a verb meaning to draw out
Exodus 2:11 Lit brothers
Exodus 2:11 Lit burdens
Exodus 2:11 Lit brothers
Exodus 2:12 Lit turned
Exodus 2:12 Lit him
Exodus 2:13 Or quarreling
Exodus 2:13 Or the guilty one
Exodus 2:14 Lit man, a ruler
Exodus 2:14 Lit say
Exodus 2:15 Lit dwelt
Exodus 2:19 Lit the hand of the
Exodus 2:20 Lit that he may eat bread
Exodus 2:22 Cf. Heb ger sham, a stranger there
Exodus 2:25 Lit knew them

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi ^{( A )} married a Levite woman, ^{( B )} ² and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine ^{( C )} child, she hid him for three months. ^{( D )} ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus ^{( E )} basket ^{[ a ]} for him and coated it with tar and pitch. ^{( F )} Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds ^{( G )} along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister ^{( H )} stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. ^{( I )} She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named ^{( J )} him Moses, ^{[ b ]} saying, “I drew ^{( K )} him out of the water.”

Moses Flees to Midian

¹¹ One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people ^{( L )} were and watched them at their hard labor. ^{( M )} He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. ¹² Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” ^{( N )}

¹⁴ The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? ^{( O )} Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill ^{( P )} Moses, but Moses fled ^{( Q )} from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, ^{( R )} where he sat down by a well. ¹⁶ Now a priest of Midian ^{( S )} had seven daughters, and they came to draw water ^{( T )} and fill the troughs ^{( U )} to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue ^{( V )} and watered their flock. ^{( W )}

¹⁸ When the girls returned to Reuel ^{( X )} their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

¹⁹ They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

²⁰ “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.” ^{( Y )}

²¹ Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah ^{( Z )} to Moses in marriage. ²² Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, ^{[ c ]} ^{( AA )} saying, “I have become a foreigner ^{( AB )} in a foreign land.”

²³ During that long period, ^{( AC )} the king of Egypt died. ^{( AD )} The Israelites groaned in their slavery ^{( AE )} and cried out, and their cry ^{( AF )} for help because of their slavery went up to God. ²⁴ God heard their groaning and he remembered ^{( AG )} his covenant ^{( AH )} with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. ²⁵ So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned ^{( AI )} about them.

Footnotes

Exodus 2:3 The Hebrew can also mean ark , as in Gen. 6:14.
Exodus 2:10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out.
Exodus 2:22 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there.

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Table of Contents

The birth of Moses

Moses runs away to Midian

Footnotes

Baby Moses

Moses Helps His People

Moses in Midian

God Decides to Help Israel

Footnotes

The Birth of Moses

Moses Escapes to Midian

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The Birth of Moses

Moses Flees to Midian

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The birth of Moses

Moses runs away to Midian

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Baby Moses

Moses Helps His People

Moses in Midian

God Decides to Help Israel

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The Birth of Moses

Moses Escapes to Midian

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The Birth of Moses

Moses Flees to Midian

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