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

² And 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.

³ And 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.

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

⁵ Now 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.

⁶ And 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.

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

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

⁹ And 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.

¹⁰ And 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.

¹¹ Now 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.

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

¹³ And 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?

¹⁴ And 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.

¹⁵ Now 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.

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

¹⁷ And 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.

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

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

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

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

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

²³ Now 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.

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

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

¹ A man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as his wife.

² The woman conceived, and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.

³ When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank.

⁴ His sister stood far off, to see what would be done to him.

⁵ Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe at the river. Her maidens walked along by the riverside. She saw the basket among the reeds, and sent her handmaid to get it.

⁶ She opened it, and saw the child, and behold, the baby cried. She had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."

⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Should I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?"

⁸ Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." The maiden went and called the child's mother.

⁹ Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." The woman took the child, and nursed it.

¹⁰ The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, and said, "Because I drew him out of the water."

¹¹ It happened in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brothers, and looked at their burdens. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brothers.

¹² He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no one, he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

¹³ He went out the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were fighting with each other. He said to him who did the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow?"

¹⁴ He said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was afraid, and said, "Surely this thing is known."

¹⁵ Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and lived in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.

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

¹⁷ The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

¹⁸ When they came to Reuel, their father, he said, "How is it that you have returned so early today?"

¹⁹ They said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock."

²⁰ He said to his daughters, "Where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread."

²¹ Moses was content to dwell with the man. He gave Moses Zipporah, his daughter.

²² She bore a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, "I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land."

²³ It happened in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

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

²⁵ God saw the children of Israel, and God was concerned about them.