Exodus 2
1 And a man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi.
It was around this time that a man from the tribe of Levi married a woman, also a Levite.
2 And the woman conceived, and bore a son. And she saw him that he was fair, and hid him three months.
She became pregnant and had a son. She saw he was a lovely baby, and she hid him for three months.
3 And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of reeds, and plastered it with resin and with pitch, and put the child in it, and laid [it] in the sedge on the bank of the river.
But when she couldn't hide him anymore, she got a papyrus basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put her baby in the basket and placed it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
4 And his sister stood afar off to see what would happen to him.
His sister waited some distance away, keeping an eye on him.
5 And the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the river; and her maids went along by the river's side. And she saw the ark in the midst of the sedge, and sent her handmaid and fetched it.
Then Pharaoh's daughter arrived to bathe in the Nile. Her ladies-in-waiting were walking along the bank of the river. When she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it and bring it to her.
6 And she opened [it], and saw the child, and behold, the boy wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is [one] of the Hebrews' children.
When she opened it she saw the baby boy. He was crying and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew boys,” she said.
7 And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call thee a wet-nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
His sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, “Would you like me to go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse him for you?”
8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the damsel went and called the child's mother.
“Yes, go and do that,” she replied. So the girl went and called the baby's mother to come.
9 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give [thee] thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed it.
“Take this baby boy and nurse him for me,” she told his mother. “I will pay you myself.” So his mother took him home and nursed him.
10 And when the child was grown, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and said, Because I drew him out of the water.
When the boy was older she took him to Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son. She called him Moses, because she said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
Later, when Moses had grown up, he went to visit his people, the Hebrews. He saw them doing hard labor. He also saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
12 And he turned this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
He looked all around to make sure no one was watching, and then he killed the Egyptian and buried his body in the sand.
13 And he went out on the second day, and behold, two Hebrew men were quarrelling; and he said to him that was in the wrong, Why art thou smiting thy neighbour?
The following day he went back and he saw two Hebrews fighting with each other. He said to the one at fault, “Why are you beating one of your own people?”
14 And he said, Who made thee ruler and judge over us? dost thou intend to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? Then Moses feared, and said, Surely the matter is known.
“Who put you in charge to judge us?” the man replied. “Are you going to kill me like you did the Egyptian?” Moses became frightened at this, and said to himself, “People know what I've done!”
15 And Pharaoh heard of this matter, and sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from before Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian. And he sat by the well.
When Pharaoh found out, he tried to have Moses killed, but Moses ran away from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian. One day as he was sitting by a well,
16 And the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew [water], and filled the troughs, to water their father's flock.
and the Midianite priest's seven daughters came to fetch water to fill up the troughs so their father's flock could drink.
17 And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses rose and helped them, and watered their flock.
Some shepherds arrived and chased them off, but Moses intervened and rescued them, and watered their flock.
18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, Why are ye come so soon to-day?
When they got home, their father Reuel asked them, “How did you get back so quickly today?”
19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew [water] abundantly for us, and watered the flock.
“An Egyptian rescued us from some shepherds who attacked us,” they replied. “Then he even fetched water for us so the flock could drink.”
20 And he said to his daughters, And where is he? why then have ye left the man behind? Call him, that he may eat bread.
“So where is he?” Reuel asked his daughter. “You didn't just leave him there, did you? Go and invite him to eat with us!”
21 And Moses consented to remain with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
Moses agreed to stay with the man, who arranged for his daughter Zipporah to marry Moses.
22 And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.
She had a son, and Moses named him Gershom, for he said, “I'm an exile living in a foreign country.”
23 And it came to pass during those many days, that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and cried; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage;
Years later, the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites were still groaning under their hard labor. Their cries for help because of their hardship reached God.
24 and God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob;
God heard their groans, and recalled his agreement with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25 and God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged [them].
God also looked sympathetically on the Israelites, and was concerned for them.
