Exodus 2

¹And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

²And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

³And 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.

⁴And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

⁵And 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.

⁶And 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.

⁷Then 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?

⁸And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.

⁹And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.

¹⁰And 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.

¹¹And 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.

¹²And 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.

¹³And 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?

¹⁴And 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.

¹⁵Now 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.

¹⁶Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

¹⁷And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

¹⁸And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

¹⁹And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.

²⁰And 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.

²¹And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

²²And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

²³And 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.

²⁴And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

²⁵And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Exodus 2

¹Now a man of the house of Levi took as his wife a daughter of Levi.

²And she became with child and gave birth to a Son; and when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she kept him secretly for three months.

³And when she was no longer able to keep him secret, she made him a basket out of the stems of water-plants, pasting sticky earth over it to keep the water out; and placing the baby in it she put it among the plants by the edge of the Nile.

⁴And his sister took her place at a distance to see what would become of him.

⁵Now Pharaoh's daughter came down to the Nile to take a bath, while her women were walking by the riverside; and she saw the basket among the river-plants, and sent her servant-girl to get it.

⁶And opening it, she saw the child, and he was crying. And she had pity on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.

⁷Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, May I go and get you one of the Hebrew women to give him the breast?

⁸And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the girl went and got the child's mother.

⁹And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take the child away and give it milk for me, and I will give you payment. And the woman took the child and gave it milk at her breast.

¹⁰And when the child was older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son, and she gave him the name Moses, Because, she said, I took him out of the water.

¹¹Now when Moses had become a man, one day he went out to his people and saw how hard their work was; and he saw an Egyptian giving blows to a Hebrew, one of his people.

¹²And turning this way and that, and seeing no one, he put the Egyptian to death, covering his body with sand.

¹³And he went out the day after and saw two of the Hebrews fighting: and he said to him who was in the wrong, Why are you fighting your brother?

¹⁴And he said, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? are you going to put me to death as you did the Egyptian? And Moses was in fear, and said, It is clear that the thing has come to light.

¹⁵Now when Pharaoh had news of this, he would have put Moses to death. But Moses went in flight from Pharaoh into the land of Midian: and he took his seat by a water-spring.

¹⁶Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came to get water for their father's flock.

¹⁷And the keepers of the sheep came up and were driving them away; but Moses got up and came to their help, watering their flock for them.

¹⁸And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that you have come back so quickly today?

¹⁹And they said, An Egyptian came to our help against the keepers of sheep and got water for us and gave it to the flock.

²⁰And he said to his daughters, Where is he? why have you let the man go? make him come in and give him a meal.

²¹And Moses was happy to go on living with the man; and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses.

²²And she gave birth to a son, to whom he gave the name Gershom: for he said, I have been living in a strange land.

²³Now after a long time the king of Egypt came to his end: and the children of Israel were crying in their grief under the weight of their work, and their cry for help came to the ears of God.

²⁴And at the sound of their weeping the agreement which God had made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob came to his mind.

²⁵And God's eyes were turned to the children of Israel and he gave them the knowledge of himself.