Exodus 2

₁There was a man in Levi's family who married a woman in the same family. ₂The woman became pregnant and she had a son. She saw that her son was beautiful and healthy and she hid him for 3 months. ₃When he became bigger, she could no longer hide him. She made a basket from reeds and clay and she covered it with tar so that water could not come into the basket. She put her child into the basket and on the Nile River among the reeds. ₄The baby's sister was standing near him to see what would happen.

₅Pharaoh's daughter went to the river to wash. There were girls with her and they were walking on the side of the river. When Pharaoh's daughter saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her servant girl to get it. ₆She opened the basket and she saw the baby. He cried and she felt sorry for him. She said: ‘He is one of the Hebrews' babies.’ ₇The baby's sister asked Pharaoh's daughter: ‘Must I call one of the Hebrew women with a baby? She can give the child milk to drink.’

₈Pharaoh's daughter said to her: ‘Yes, go.’ The girl went and she called the baby's mother. ₉Pharaoh's daughter said to the mother: ‘Take this baby, feed him and look after him until he is big. I will pay you for doing it.’ The woman took the baby and she let him drink. ₁₀When the child was old enough, his mother took him to Pharaoh's daughter. Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and he became her son. She named him Moses. She said: ‘I took him out of the water.’

₁₁When Moses became older, he went one day to his own people and saw how hard they had to work. He saw an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man, one of his own people. ₁₂He looked around and saw that no one was watching him and then he beat the Egyptian man and killed him. He hid the body of the dead man in the sand.

₁₃The next day Moses went back to his people again. He saw 2 Hebrew men fighting and he asked the man who started the fight: ‘Why do you fight with your brother? He is also a Hebrew.’

₁₄The man said to Moses: ‘Who said you may judge over us? Who said you can tell us what we must do? Do you also want to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?’

Moses became afraid. He realised that they knew what he had done. ₁₅When they told Pharaoh what Moses had done, he wanted to kill Moses, but Moses fled to the land of Midian and he lived there.

One day when he was sitting at a water-well, 7 girls came to the well to get water. ₁₆They were the daughters of the priest of Midian. They came to get water for their father's sheep and goats. ₁₇But the shepherds came and chased the girls away. Moses got up and he helped the girls. He gave water to their sheep and goats. ₁₈When the girls went back home to their father, Reuel, he asked them: ‘Why have you come back so soon?’

₁₉They told him: ‘An Egyptian man helped us when the shepherds wanted to chase us away. He also gave water to our sheep and goats.’ ₂₀Reuel asked his daughters: ‘Where is the man? Why didn't you bring him with you? Go and call him to come and eat with us.’

₂₁Reuel asked Moses to live with them and Moses did. Reuel gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses and Moses married her. ₂₂Zipporah had a baby and Moses named him Gershom. He said: ‘I am a stranger in this land.’

₂₃Later the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel were still suffering because they were slaves and were working very hard. They prayed to God and asked Him to help them. ₂₄God listened to the prayers and the crying of the Israelites and He remembered the covenant that He had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ₂₅God felt sorry for the Israelites.