< Exodus 2 >

1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
Now a man of the house of Levi married a daughter of Levi,
2 And the woman conceived, and bore a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
and she conceived and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for 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 she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the river; and her maidens walked along by the river-side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it.
Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it.
6 And she opened it, and saw it, even the child; and behold a boy that wept. And she had compassion on him, and said: 'This is one of the Hebrews' children.'
When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”
7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter: 'Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?'
Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”
8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her: 'Go.' And the maiden went and called the child's mother.
“Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the boy’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 woman took the child, and nursed it.
Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him.
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 said: 'Because I drew him out of the water.'
When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
After looking this way and that and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
13 And he went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together; and he said to him that did the wrong: 'Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?'
The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”
14 And he said: 'Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? thinkest thou to kill me, as thou didst kill the Egyptian?' And Moses feared, and said: 'Surely the thing is known.'
But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become 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.
When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside 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.
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill 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.
And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help 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?'
When the daughters returned to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
19 And they said: 'An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock.'
“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they replied. “He even drew water 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.'
“So where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
22 And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said: 'I have been a stranger in a strange land.'
And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
23 And it came to pass in the course of those many days 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.
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25 And God saw the children of Israel, and God took cognizance of them.
God saw the Israelites and took notice.

< Exodus 2 >