Exodus 2
New American Standard Bible
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
Exodus 2
King James Version
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.
Exodus 2
Living Bible
2 1-2 There were at this time a Hebrew fellow and girl of the tribe of Levi who married and had a family, and a baby son was born to them. When the baby’s mother saw that he was an unusually beautiful baby, she hid him at home for three months. 3 Then, when she could no longer hide him, she made a little boat from papyrus reeds, waterproofed it with tar, put the baby in it, and laid it among the reeds along the river’s edge. 4 The baby’s sister watched from a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 Well, this is what happened: A princess, one of Pharaoh’s daughters, came down to bathe in the river, and as she and her maids were walking along the riverbank, she spied the little boat among the reeds and sent one of the maids to bring it to her. 6 When she opened it, there was a baby! And he was crying. This touched her heart. “He must be one of the Hebrew children!” she said.
7 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess and asked her, “Shall I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the little girl rushed home and called her mother!
9 “Take this child home and nurse him for me,” the princess instructed the baby’s mother, “and I will pay you well!” So she took him home and nursed him.
10 Later, when he was older, she brought him back to the princess and he became her son. She named him Moses (meaning “to draw out”[a]) because she had drawn him out of the water.
11 One day, many years later[b] when Moses had grown up and become a man, he went out to visit his fellow Hebrews and saw the terrible conditions they were under. During his visit he saw an Egyptian knock a Hebrew to the ground—one of his own Hebrew brothers! 12 Moses looked this way and that to be sure no one was watching, then killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
13 The next day as he was out visiting among the Hebrews again, he saw two of them fighting. “What are you doing, hitting your own Hebrew brother like that?” he said to the one in the wrong.
14 “And who are you?” the man demanded. “I suppose you think you are our prince and judge! And do you plan to kill me as you did that Egyptian yesterday?” When Moses realized that his deed was known, he was frightened. 15 And sure enough, when Pharaoh heard about it he ordered Moses arrested and executed. But Moses ran away into the land of Midian. As he was sitting there beside a well, 16 seven girls who were daughters of the priest of Midian came to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. 17 But the shepherds chased the girls away. Moses then came to their aid and rescued them from the shepherds and watered their flocks.
18 When they returned to their father, Reuel, he asked, “How did you get the flocks watered so quickly today?”
19 “An Egyptian defended us against the shepherds,” they told him; “he drew water for us and watered the flocks.”
20 “Well, where is he?” their father demanded. “Did you just leave him there? Invite him home for supper.”
21 Moses eventually decided to accept Reuel’s invitation to live with them, and Reuel gave him one of the girls, Zipporah, as his wife. 22 They had a baby named Gershom (meaning “foreigner”), for he said, “I am a stranger in a foreign land.”
23 Several years later the king of Egypt died. The Israelis were groaning beneath their burdens, in deep trouble because of their slavery, and weeping bitterly before the Lord. He heard their cries from heaven, 24 and remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to bring their descendants back into the land of Canaan.[c] 25 Looking down upon them, he knew that the time had come for their rescue.[d]
Footnotes
- Exodus 2:10 The name Moses sounds like another Hebrew word meaning “to draw out.”
- Exodus 2:11 many years later, implied.
- Exodus 2:24 to bring their descendants back into the land of Canaan, implied.
- Exodus 2:25 knew that the time had come for their rescue, literally, “knew their condition.”
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.