Exodus 2
2
Moses’ birth
1Now a man from Levi’s household married a Levite woman. 2The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that the baby was healthy and beautiful, so she hid him for three months. 3When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a reed basket and sealed it up with black tar. She put the child in the basket and set the basket among the reeds at the riverbank. 4The baby’s older sister stood watch nearby to see what would happen to him.
5Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, while her women servants walked along beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds, and she sent one of her servants to bring it to her. 6When she opened it, she saw the child. The boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children.”
7Then the baby’s sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”
8Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, “Yes, do that.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I’ll pay you for your work.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10After the child had grown up, she brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I pulled him out#2.10 Heb mashah sounds like Moses (moshe). of the water.”
Moses runs away to Midian
11One day after Moses had become an adult, he went out among his people and he saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12He looked around to make sure no one else was there. Then he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13When Moses went out the next day, he saw two Hebrew men fighting with each other. Moses said to the one who had started the fight, “Why are you abusing your fellow Hebrew?”
14He replied, “Who made you a boss or judge over us? Are you planning to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?”
Then Moses was afraid when he realized: They obviously know what I did. 15When Pharaoh heard about it, he tried to kill Moses.
But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and settled down in the land of Midian. One day Moses was sitting by a well. 16Now there was a Midianite priest who had seven daughters. The daughters came to draw water and fill the troughs so that their father’s flock could drink. 17But some shepherds came along and rudely chased them away. Moses got up, rescued the women, and gave their flock water to drink.
18When they went back home to their father Reuel,#2.18 Also called Jethro he asked, “How were you able to come back home so soon today?”
19They replied, “An Egyptian man rescued us from a bunch of shepherds. Afterward, he even helped us draw water to let the flock drink.”
20Reuel said to his daughters, “So where is he? Why did you leave this man? Invite him to eat a meal with us.”
21Moses agreed to come and live with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife. 22She gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, “because,” he said, “I’ve been an immigrant#2.22 Heb ger sounds like Gershom. living in a foreign land.”
23A long time passed, and the Egyptian king died. The Israelites were still groaning because of their hard work. They cried out, and their cry to be rescued from the hard work rose up to God. 24God heard their cry of grief, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25God looked at the Israelites, and God understood.
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Exodus 2: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. 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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