Exodus 2

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

2The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was good, she hid him three months.

3No longer able to hide him, she took a rush ark for him and daubed it with tar and pitch, placed the child inside it, and set it among the reeds on the riverbank.

4His sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.

5Pharaoh's daughter went down to bathe at the river, her maidens walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maidservant to fetch it.

6She opened it, saw the child—behold, a crying boy—pitied him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."

7His sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call a nursing woman for you from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?"

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

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

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

11In those days, when Moses grew up, he went out to his brothers and saw their burdens. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brothers.

12He looked here and there, saw no one around, killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

13He went out the second day, and there two Hebrew men were fighting. He said to the wrongdoer, "Why do you strike your fellow?"

14He said, "Who appointed you a ruler and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was afraid and said, "Surely the matter is known."

15Pharaoh heard this matter and sought to kill Moses, but Moses fled from his presence, dwelt in the land of Midian, and sat by the well.

16The priest of Midian had seven daughters who came and drew water, filling the troughs to water their father's flock.

17The shepherds came and expelled them, but Moses arose, rescued them, and watered their flock.

18They came to Reuel their father, and he said, "Why have you hastened to come today?"

19They said, "An Egyptian man rescued us from the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water for us and watered the flock."

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

21Moses was willing to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah, his daughter, to Moses.

22She gave birth to a son, and he called him Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land."

23In those many days the king of Egypt died, the sons of Israel groaned and cried out because of the bondage, and their cry rose to God because of the bondage.

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

25God saw the sons of Israel, and God knew them.