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
Cross references
- Exodus 2:1 : Ex 6:16, 18, 20
- Exodus 2:2 : Acts 7:20; Heb 11:23
- Exodus 2:3 : Is 18:2
- Exodus 2:3 : Is 19:6
- Exodus 2:4 : Ex 15:20; Num 26:59
- Exodus 2:5 : Ex 7:15; 8:20
- Exodus 2:10 : Acts 7:21
- Exodus 2:11 : Acts 7:23; Heb 11:24-26
- Exodus 2:11 : Ex 1:11; 5:4, 5; 6:6, 7
- Exodus 2:11 : Acts 7:24
- Exodus 2:12 : Acts 7:24, 25
- Exodus 2:13 : Acts 7:26-28
- Exodus 2:14 : Gen 19:9; Acts 7:27, 28
- Exodus 2:15 : Acts 7:29; Heb 11:27
- Exodus 2:15 : Gen 24:11; 29:2
- Exodus 2:16 : Ex 3:1; 18:12
- Exodus 2:16 : Gen 24:11, 13, 19; 29:9, 10; 1 Sam 9:11
- Exodus 2:17 : Gen 29:3, 10
- Exodus 2:18 : Ex 3:1; Num 10:29
- Exodus 2:21 : Acts 7:29
- Exodus 2:21 : Ex 4:25; 18:2
- Exodus 2:22 : Ex 4:20; 18:3, 4
- Exodus 2:22 : Gen 23:4; Lev 25:23; Acts 7:29; Heb 11:13, 14
- Exodus 2:23 : Ex 6:5, 9
- Exodus 2:23 : Ex 3:7, 9; Deut 26:7; James 5:4
- Exodus 2:24 : Ex 6:5; Acts 7:34
- Exodus 2:24 : Gen 15:13f; 22:16-18; 26:2-5; 28:13-15; Ps 105:8, 42
- Exodus 2:25 : Ex 3:7; 4:31; Acts 7:34