¹ Üks mees, Leevi soost, läks ja võttis ühe Leevi tütre.

² Ja naine jäi lapseootele ning tõi poja ilmale; ta nägi, et see oli ilus, ja ta peitis teda kolm kuud.

³ Aga kui ta enam ei saanud teda peita, siis ta võttis tema jaoks pilliroost laeka, pigitas selle maapigi ja vaiguga, pani sellesse lapse ja asetas jõe äärde kõrkjaisse.

⁴ Ta õde võttis eemal aset, et teada saada, mis temaga juhtub.

⁵ Siis tuli vaarao tütar alla jõe äärde ennast pesema; ta toaneitsid aga kõndisid jõe kaldal. Kui ta nägi laegast kõrkjate sees, siis ta läkitas oma teenija ja laskis selle ära tuua.

⁶ Kui ta selle avas ja nägi last, vaata, siis üks poeglaps nuttis. Aga ta halastas tema peale ning ütles: 'See on üks heebrealaste poeglaps.'

⁷ Selle õde ütles siis vaarao tütrele: 'Kas pean minema ja kutsuma sulle heebrea naiste hulgast imetaja, et ta sulle last imetaks?'

⁸ Ja vaarao tütar vastas temale: 'Mine!' Ja tüdruk läks ning kutsus lapse ema.

⁹ Ja vaarao tütar ütles sellele: 'Vii see laps ja imeta teda minu jaoks, ja ma annan sulle tasu!' Ja naine võttis lapse ning imetas teda.

¹⁰ Kui laps oli kasvanud, siis ta tõi selle vaarao tütrele ja see võttis tema enesele pojaks; ta pani temale nimeks Mooses ja ütles: 'Sest ma olen ta veest välja tõmmanud!'

¹¹ Ja see sündis neil päevil, kui Mooses oli suureks kasvanud, et ta läks välja oma suguvendade juurde ja nägi nende teoorjust; ja ta nägi ühte egiptuse meest peksvat heebrea meest tema suguvendade hulgast.

¹² Ja kui ta vaatas sinna ja tänna ja nägi, et seal kedagi ei olnud, siis ta lõi egiptlase maha ja mattis liivasse.

¹³ Kui ta teisel päeval läks välja, vaata, siis taplesid kaks heebrea meest, ja ta ütles õelale: 'Miks sa peksad oma ligimest?'

¹⁴ Aga see vastas: 'Kes on pannud sind meile ülemaks ja kohtumõistjaks? Kas mõtled tappa ka mind, nagu sa tapsid egiptlase?' Siis Mooses kartis ja mõtles: 'Asi on tõesti ilmsiks tulnud!'

¹⁵ Ka vaarao kuulis sellest loost ja ta püüdis Moosest tappa. Aga Mooses põgenes vaarao eest ja asus Midjanimaale. Kord istus ta seal ühe kaevu ääres.

¹⁶ Midjani preestril oli seitse tütart; need tulid ja ammutasid vett ning täitsid künad, et joota oma isa lambaid ja kitsi.

¹⁷ Aga karjased tulid ja tõrjusid nad eemale; siis Mooses tõusis ja aitas neid ning jootis nende loomi.

¹⁸ Kui nad tulid oma isa Reueli juurde, küsis see: 'Kuidas te täna jõudsite nii kiiresti?'

¹⁹ Nad vastasid: 'Keegi egiptuse mees päästis meid karjaste käest; ta ammutas meile ka vett ning jootis lambaid ja kitsi.'

²⁰ Siis ta ütles oma tütardele: 'Kus ta on? Miks jätsite mehe sinna? Kutsuge ta leiba võtma!'

²¹ Ja Mooses otsustas jääda selle mehe juurde; see andis oma tütre Sippora Moosesele.

²² Temale sündis poeg ja ta pani sellele nimeks Geersom, sest ta ütles: 'Ma olen võõras võõral maal.'

²³ Alles hulga aja pärast juhtus, et Egiptuse kuningas suri. Ent Iisraeli lapsed ohkasid ja kaebasid orjuse pärast; ja nende hädakisa orjuse pärast tõusis Jumalani.

²⁴ Ja Jumal kuulis nende ägamist, ja Jumal mõtles oma lepingule Aabrahami, Iisaki ja Jaakobiga.

²⁵ Jumal vaatas Iisraeli laste peale ja Jumal mõistis neid.

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.