Exodus 2
1 And there goeth a man of the house of Levi, and he taketh the 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 conceiveth, and beareth a son, and she seeth him that he [is] fair, and she hideth 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 she hath not been able any more to hide him, and she taketh for him an ark of rushes, and daubeth it with bitumen and with pitch, and putteth the lad in it, and putteth [it] in the weeds by the edge 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 stationeth herself afar off, to know what is done to him.
His sister waited some distance away, keeping an eye on him.
5 And a daughter of Pharaoh cometh down to bathe at the River, and her damsels are walking by the side of the River, and she seeth the ark in the midst of the weeds, and sendeth her handmaid, and she taketh 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 openeth, and seeth him — the lad, and lo, a child weeping! and she hath pity on him, and saith, '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 saith unto the daughter of Pharaoh, 'Do I go? when I have called for thee a suckling woman of the Hebrews, then she doth suckle the lad 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 the daughter of Pharaoh saith to her, 'Go;' and the virgin goeth, and calleth the mother of the lad,
“Yes, go and do that,” she replied. So the girl went and called the baby's mother to come.
9 and the daughter of Pharaoh saith to her, 'Take this lad away, and suckle him for me, and I — I give thy hire;' and the woman taketh the lad, and suckleth him.
“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 the lad groweth, and she bringeth him in to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he is to her for a son, and she calleth his name Moses, and saith, 'Because — from the water I have drawn him.'
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 cometh to pass, in those days, that Moses is grown, and he goeth out unto his brethren, and looketh on their burdens, and seeth a man, an Egyptian, smiting a man, 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 turneth hither and thither, and seeth that there is no man, and smiteth the Egyptian, and hideth 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 goeth out on the second day, and lo, two men, Hebrews, striving! and he saith to the wrong-doer, 'Why dost thou smite 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 saith, 'Who set thee for a head and a judge over us? to slay me art thou saying [it], as thou hast slain the Egyptian?' and Moses feareth, and saith, 'Surely the thing hath been 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 heareth of this thing, and seeketh to slay Moses, and Moses fleeth from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelleth in the land of Midian, and dwelleth 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 to a priest of Midian [are] seven daughters, and they come and draw, and fill the troughs, to water the flock of their father,
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 come and drive them away, and Moses ariseth, and saveth them, and watereth their flock.
Some shepherds arrived and chased them off, but Moses intervened and rescued them, and watered their flock.
18 And they come in to Reuel their father, and he saith, 'Wherefore have ye hastened to come in to-day?'
When they got home, their father Reuel asked them, “How did you get back so quickly today?”
19 and they say, 'A man, an Egyptian, hath delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also hath diligently drawn for us, and watereth 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 saith unto his daughters, 'And where [is] he? why [is] this? — ye left the man! call for him, and he doth 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 is willing to dwell with the man, and he giveth Zipporah his daughter to Moses,
Moses agreed to stay with the man, who arranged for his daughter Zipporah to marry Moses.
22 and she beareth a son, and he calleth his name Gershom, for he said, 'A sojourner I have been in a strange 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 cometh to pass during these many days, that the king of Egypt dieth, and the sons of Israel sigh because of the service, and cry, and their cry goeth up unto God, because of the service;
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 heareth their groaning, and God remembereth 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 seeth the sons of Israel, and God knoweth.
God also looked sympathetically on the Israelites, and was concerned for them.
