Exodus 2
2
Baby Moses
1Now a man from the family of Levi married a woman who was also from the family of Levi. 2She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw how wonderful the baby was, she hid him for three months. 3But after three months she was not able to hide the baby any longer, so she got a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar so that it would float. She put the baby in the basket. Then she put the basket among the tall stalks of grass at the edge of the Nile River. 4The baby’s sister stood a short distance away to see what would happen to him.
5Then the daughter of the king of Egypt came to the river to take a bath, and her servant girls were walking beside the river. When she saw the basket in the tall grass, she sent her slave girl to get it. 6The king’s daughter opened the basket and saw the baby boy. He was crying, so she felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew babies.”
7Then the baby’s sister asked the king’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?”
8The king’s daughter said, “Go!” So the girl went and got the baby’s own mother.
9The king’s daughter said to the woman, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took her baby and nursed him. 10When the child grew older, the woman took him to the king’s daughter, and she adopted the baby as her own son. The king’s daughter named him Moses, because she had pulled him out of the water.
Moses Tries to Help
11Moses grew and became a man. One day he visited his people and saw that they were forced to work very hard. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man, one of Moses’ own people. 12Moses looked all around and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
13The next day Moses returned and saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He said to the one that was in the wrong, “Why are you hitting one of your own people?”
14The man answered, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Moses was afraid and thought, “Now everyone knows what I did.”
15When the king heard what Moses had done, he tried to kill him. But Moses ran away from the king and went to live in the land of Midian. There he sat down near a well.
Moses in Midian
16There was a priest in Midian who had seven daughters. His daughters went to that well to get water to fill the water troughs for their father’s flock. 17Some shepherds came and chased the girls away, but Moses defended the girls and watered their flock.
18When they went back to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you come home early today?”
19The girls answered, “The shepherds chased us away, but an Egyptian defended us. He got water for us and watered our flock.”
20He asked his daughters, “Where is this man? Why did you leave him? Invite him to eat with us.”
21Moses agreed to stay with Jethro, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife. 22Zipporah gave birth to a son. Moses named him Gershom, because Moses was a stranger in a land that was not his own.
23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel groaned, because they were forced to work very hard. When they cried for help, God heard them. 24God heard their cries, and he remembered the agreement he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25He saw the troubles of the people of Israel, and he was concerned about them.
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Exodus 2: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Exodus 2
2
Moses Is Born
1A man and a woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2She became pregnant and had a son by her husband. She saw that her baby was a fine child. And she hid him for three months. 3After that, she couldn’t hide him any longer. So she got a basket made out of the stems of tall grass. She coated the basket with tar. She placed the child in the basket. Then she put it in the tall grass that grew along the bank of the Nile River. 4The child’s sister wasn’t very far away. She wanted to see what would happen to him.
5Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile River to take a bath. Her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass. So she sent her female slave to get it. 6When she opened it, Pharaoh’s daughter saw the baby. He was crying. She felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
7Then his sister spoke to Pharaoh’s daughter. She asked, “Do you want me to go and get one of the Hebrew women? She could breast-feed the baby for you.”
8“Yes. Go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and feed him for me. I’ll pay you.” So the woman took the baby and fed him. 10When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter. And he became her son. She named him Moses. She said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
Moses Escapes to Midian
11Moses grew up. One day, he went out to where his own people were. He watched them while they were hard at work. He saw an Egyptian hitting a Hebrew man. The man was one of Moses’ own people. 12Moses looked around and didn’t see anyone. So he killed the Egyptian. Then he hid his body in the sand. 13The next day Moses went out again. He saw two Hebrew men fighting. He asked the one who had started the fight a question. He said, “Why are you hitting another Hebrew man?”
14The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking about killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became afraid. He thought, “People must have heard about what I did.”
15When Pharaoh heard about what had happened, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses escaped from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian. There he sat down by a well. 16A priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to fill the stone tubs with water. They wanted to give water to their father’s flock. 17Some shepherds came along and chased the girls away. But Moses got up and helped them. Then he gave water to their flock.
18The girls returned to their father Reuel. He asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
19They answered, “An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds. He even got water for us and gave it to the flock.”
20“Where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”
21Moses agreed to stay with the man. And the man gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife. 22Zipporah had a son by him. Moses named him Gershom. That’s because Moses said, “I’m an outsider in a strange land.”
23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel groaned because they were slaves. They also cried out to God. Their cry for help went up to him. 24God heard their groans. He remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25So God looked on the Israelites with concern for them.
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