Exodus 2
1 And there goeth a man of the house of Levi, and he taketh the daughter of Levi,
(There was a man who/My father) was descended from [Jacob’s son] Levi. He married a woman who was [also] descended from Levi.
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 gave birth to (a baby boy/me). When she saw that he/I was a good-looking baby, she hid him/me for three months, [because she was not willing to do what the king commanded].
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;
When she was unable to (hide him/me/keep it a secret) any longer, she got a basket made from tall reeds. She covered the basket with tar ([to make it waterproof/so water could not get in]). Then she put him/me in the basket and put the basket in [the water] in the middle of the tall grass at the edge of the Nile [River].
4 and his sister stationeth herself afar off, to know what is done to him.
His/My older sister was standing not far away, [watching to see] what would happen to him/me.
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,
[Soon] the king’s daughter went down to the river to bathe. Her female servants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket amid the tall grass [in the river]. So she sent [one of] her servants to get it.
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 [the servant brought the basket to her], she opened it, and was surprised to see (a baby that was/me), crying. She felt sorry for him/me, and said, “This [must] be one of the Hebrews’ babies.”
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;'
Then (the baby’s/my) [older] sister [approached] the king’s daughter and said, “Do you want me to go and find someone from among the Hebrew women who will [be able to] nurse the baby for you?”
8 and the daughter of Pharaoh saith to her, 'Go;' and the virgin goeth, and calleth the mother of the lad,
The king’s daughter said to her, “[Yes], go [and find one].” So the girl went and summoned (the baby’s/my) mother.
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.
The king’s daughter said to her, “[Please] take this baby and nurse him for me. I will pay you [for doing that].” So (the woman/my mother) took him/me and nursed him/me.
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.'
([A few years later]/when (the child/I) grew [older]), she brought him/me to the king’s daughter. She adopted him/me [as though I was] her own son. She named him/me Moses, [which sounds like the Hebrew words ‘pull out’], 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,
One day, after Moses/I had grown up, he/I went out [of the palace area] to see his/my people, [the Hebrews]. He/I saw how they were being [forced to work] very hard. He/I [also] saw an Egyptian [man] beating one of his/my Hebrew 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/I looked around [to see if anyone was watching]. Seeing no one, he/I killed the Egyptian man 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 next day he/I returned [to the same place]. He/I was surprised to see two Hebrew men who were fighting [each other]. He/I said to the man who started the fight, “Why are you (you should not be) striking your fellow [Hebrew].”
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.'
The man replied, “(Who made you our ruler and judge?/No one made you our ruler and judge!) [RHQ] [You have no right to interfere with us] Are you going to kill me just like you killed that Egyptian man [yesterday]?” Then Moses/I was afraid, [because] he/I thought, “[Since that man knows what I did], surely [other people] know, [too].”
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.
[And that was correct]. The king heard about what he/I had done [to that Egyptian. So he ordered his soldiers to] execute/kill Moses/me. But he/I fled from the king [and left Egypt. He/I traveled east to] the Midian [region] and started to live there.
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,
The man who was the (priest/one who offered the people’s gifts to God) for the Midian people, [whose name was Jethro], had seven daughters. [One day] as Moses/I sat down beside a well, those girls came [to the well] and got water, and filled the troughs in order to give water to their father’s flock [of sheep].
17 and the shepherds come and drive them away, and Moses ariseth, and saveth them, and watereth their flock.
Some (shepherds/men who took care of other sheep) came and started to chase away the girls. But Moses/I helped/rescued the girls, and got water for their sheep.
18 And they come in to Reuel their father, and he saith, 'Wherefore have ye hastened to come in to-day?'
When the girls returned to their father [Jethro], [whose other name is] Reuel, he asked them, “How is it that you were able to [give water to the sheep and] come home 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;'
They replied, “A man from Egypt kept [MTY] other shepherds from sending us away. He also got water for us [from the well] and gave water to the flock [of sheep].”
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.'
He said to his daughters, “Where is he? (Why did you leave him [out there]?/You should not leave him [out there]!) [RHQ] Invite him [in], so he can have something to eat [MTY]!”
21 And Moses is willing to dwell with the man, and he giveth Zipporah his daughter to Moses,
[So they did], and Moses/I [accepted and ate with them]. And Moses/I decided to live there. Later Jethro gave him/me his daughter Zipporah [to be his/my wife].
22 and she beareth a son, and he calleth his name Gershom, for he said, 'A sojourner I have been in a strange land.'
Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses/I named him Gershom, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘foreigner’], because he/I said, “I am living as a foreigner in [this] land.”
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;
Many years later the king of Egypt died. The Israeli people [in Egypt] were still groaning because of the [hard work they had to do as] slaves. They called out for [someone to] help them, and God heard them call out [PRS].
24 and God heareth their groaning, and God remembereth His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob;
He heard them groaning. And he (thought about/did not forget) that he had solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob [to bless their descendants].
25 and God seeth the sons of Israel, and God knoweth.
God saw how the Israeli people were [being badly treated], and he was concerned about them.
