Exodus

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

1A man from the family of Levi married a woman from that same family.

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

2She had a baby boy. She saw he was a fine child. She hid him for 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.

3Soon she could not hide him any longer. She made a basket from tall river plants. She covered it with sticky black tar to keep the water out. She put the baby inside. Then she set the basket in the tall grass at the edge of the river.

NoteThe old English says "an ark of bulrushes" covered with "slime and pitch." That means a basket woven from tall reeds and coated with tar so it would float.

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

4The baby's sister stood far away. She watched to see what would happen 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.

5Pharaoh's daughter came to the river to wash. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt. Her helpers walked along the water's edge. She saw the basket in the tall grass. She sent her servant girl to get 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.

6She opened the basket and saw the baby. He was crying. She felt sorry for him. She said, "This is one of the Hebrew babies." The Hebrews were the people of Israel.

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?

7Then the baby's sister spoke to Pharaoh's daughter. She said, "Should I go get a Hebrew woman to feed the baby for you?"

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

8Pharaoh's daughter said, "Yes, go." So the girl went and brought the baby's own 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.

9Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and feed him for me. I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and cared for him.

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.

10The boy grew bigger. Then his mother brought him to Pharaoh's daughter. The princess took him as her own son. She named him Moses. She said, "I pulled him out of the water."

NoteThe name Moses sounds like the Hebrew words for "pulled out." That is why the story tells us she pulled 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.

11Moses grew up. One day he went out to see his own people. He saw how hard they had to work. He saw an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man, one of his own people.

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.

12Moses looked one way and then the other. He saw that nobody was watching. So he killed the Egyptian and hid the body 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?

13The next day he went out again. Two Hebrew men were fighting each other. Moses asked the one who was in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your own friend?"

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.

14The man said, "Who made you our leader and our judge? Are you going to kill me, like you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was afraid. He thought, "People know what I did."

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.

15Pharaoh heard about it and tried to kill Moses. So Moses ran away from Pharaoh. He went to live in a land called Midian. There he sat down beside 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.

16The priest of Midian had seven daughters. A priest was a man who led people in worship. The daughters came to draw water. They filled the water troughs for their father's sheep and goats.

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

17Some shepherds came and pushed the girls away. But Moses stood up and helped them. He got water for their animals.

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

18The girls went home to their father, Reuel. He asked them, "Why are you home so early today?"

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.

19They said, "An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and gave it to the animals."

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.

20Their father said, "Where is he? Why did you leave him there? Go and ask him to come eat with us."

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

21Moses was glad to stay and live with Reuel. Reuel gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife.

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

22Zipporah had a baby boy. Moses named him Gershom. He said, "I am a stranger living in a land that is not mine."

NoteThe name Gershom sounds like the Hebrew word for "a stranger there." A stranger is someone living far from home.

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.

23A long time passed, and the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel were still slaves. Their work was very hard, and they groaned and cried out. Their cry went up to God.

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

24God heard them crying. He remembered the promise he had made long ago to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

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

25God looked at the people of Israel. He saw them, and he cared about them.