| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. | 1A man from the household of Levi married a woman who was a descendant of Levi. |
| 2The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. | 2The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a healthy child, she hid him for three months. |
| 3But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. | 3But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile. |
| 4The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him. | 4His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him. |
| 5Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. | 5Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself by the Nile, while her attendants were walking alongside the river, and she saw the basket among the reeds. She sent one of her attendants, took it, |
| 6When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said. | 6opened it, and saw the child--a boy, crying!--and she felt compassion for him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." |
| 7Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked. | 7Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get a nursing woman for you from the Hebrews, so that she may nurse the child for you?" |
| 8“Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother. | 8Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Yes, do so." So the young girl went and got the child's mother. |
| 9“Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him. | 9Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him. |
| 10Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.” Moses Escapes to Midian | 10When the child grew older she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "Because I drew him from the water." |
| 11Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. | 11In those days, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and observed their hard labor, and he saw an Egyptian man attacking a Hebrew man, one of his own people. |
| 12After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand. | 12He looked this way and that and saw that no one was there, and then he attacked the Egyptian and concealed the body in the sand. |
| 13The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. “Why are you beating up your friend?” Moses said to the one who had started the fight. | 13When he went out the next day, there were two Hebrew men fighting. So he said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why are you attacking your fellow Hebrew?" |
| 14The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.” | 14The man replied, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Are you planning to kill me like you killed that Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid, thinking, "Surely what I did has become known." |
| 15And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian. When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well. | 15When Pharaoh heard about this event, he sought to kill Moses. So Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he settled by a certain well. |
| 16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. | 16Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and began to draw water and fill the troughs in order to water their father's flock. |
| 17But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks. | 17When some shepherds came and drove them away, Moses came up and defended them and then watered their flock. |
| 18When the girls returned to Reuel, their father, he asked, “Why are you back so soon today?” | 18So when they came home to their father Reuel, he asked, "Why have you come home so early today?" |
| 19“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered. “And then he drew water for us and watered our flocks.” | 19They said, "An Egyptian man rescued us from the shepherds, and he actually drew water for us and watered the flock!" |
| 20“Then where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave him there? Invite him to come and eat with us.” | 20He said to his daughters, "So where is he? Why in the world did you leave the man? Call him, so that he may eat a meal with us." |
| 21Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. | 21Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. |
| 22Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, for he explained, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.” | 22When she bore a son, Moses named him Gershom, for he said, "I have become a resident foreigner in a foreign land." |
| 23Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. | 23During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to God. |
| 24God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. | 24God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, |
| 25He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act. | 25God saw the Israelites, and God understood. . . . |
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