Exodus 1-3
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 1
1Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came, each one with his household: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5All the people who descended from Jacob were seventy people, but Joseph was already in Egypt. 6And Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.
8Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9And he said to his people, 'Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.
10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, otherwise they will multiply, and in the event of war, they will also join those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.'
11So they appointed taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they dreaded the sons of Israel.
13The Egyptians used violence to compel the sons of Israel to labor;
14and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they violently had them perform as slaves.
15Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah, and the other was named Puah;
16and he said, 'When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.'
17But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.
18So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, 'Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?'
19The midwives said to Pharaoh, 'Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.'
20So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.
21And because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.
22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, 'Every son who is born, you are to throw into the Nile, but every daughter, you are to keep alive.'
Chapter 2
1Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. 2And the woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4And his sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him.
5Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her female attendants walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave woman, and she brought it to her.
6When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, 'This is one of the Hebrews’ children.'
7Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, 'Shall I go and call a woman for you who is nursing from the Hebrew women, so that she may nurse the child for you?'
8Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, 'Go ahead.' So the girl went and called the child’s mother.
9Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, 'Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.' So the woman took the child and nursed him.
10And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, 'Because I drew him out of the water.'
11Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his fellow Hebrews and looked at their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his fellow Hebrews.
12So he looked this way and that, and when he saw that there was no one around, he struck and killed the Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand.
13Now he went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, 'Why are you striking your companion?'
14But he said, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?' Then Moses was afraid and said, 'Surely the matter has become known!'
16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.
18When they came to their father Reuel, he said, 'Why have you come back so soon today?'
19They said, 'An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.'
20So he said to his daughters, 'Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.'
21And Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses.
22Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, 'I have been a stranger in a foreign land.'
23Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God.
24So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.
Chapter 3
1Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. 3So Moses said, 'I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!' 4When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' 5Then He said, 'Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.' 6And He said, 'I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7And the Lord said, 'I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.
8So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
9And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.'
11But Moses said to God, 'Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?'
12And He said, 'Assuredly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.'
13Then Moses said to God, 'Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?'
14And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘ I AM has sent me to you.’?'
15God furthermore said to Moses, 'This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is the name for all generations to use to call upon Me.
16Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has appeared to me, saying, 'I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.
17So I said, I will bring you up out of the oppression of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.
18Then they will pay attention to what you say; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt, and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’
19But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion.
20So I will reach out with My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.
21I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.
22But every woman shall ask her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.'
King James Version
Chapter 1
1Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. 6And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
9And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
11Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
14And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
15And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
Chapter 2
1And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him 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. 4And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done 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.
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.
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?
8And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's 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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
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.
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.
21And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
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.
24And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
Chapter 3
1Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
16Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
17And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
18And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.
19And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
20And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
21And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:
22But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 1
1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his family:
6Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation eventually died.
7But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous so that the land was filled with them.
8A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt.
9He said to his people, "Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are.
10Come, let’s deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and when war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country."
11So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh.
12But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.
13They worked the Israelites ruthlessly
14and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.
15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives—the first whose name was Shiphrah and the second whose name was Puah—
16"When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live."
17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.
18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this and let the boys live?"
20So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very numerous.
21Since the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
22Pharaoh then commanded all his people: "You must throw every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live."
Chapter 2
1Now a man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. 2The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son; when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4Then his sister stood at a distance in order to see what would happen to him.
5Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds, sent her slave girl, took it,
6opened it, and saw him, the child—and there he was, a little boy, crying. She felt sorry for him and said, "This is one of the Hebrew boys."
8"Go," Pharaoh’s daughter told her. So the girl went and called the boy’s mother.
9Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages." So the woman took the boy and nursed him.
10When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, "Because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."
11Years later, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his people.
12Looking all around and seeing no one, he struck the Egyptian dead and hid him in the sand.
13The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you attacking your neighbor?"
16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17Then some shepherds arrived and drove them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their flock.
18When they returned to their father Reuel, he asked, "Why have you come back so quickly today?"
21Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
22She gave birth to a son whom he named Gershom, for he said, "I have been a resident alien in a foreign land."
23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor; and they cried out; and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God.
24And God heard their groaning; and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob;
25and God saw the Israelites; and God knew.
Chapter 3
1Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. 3So Moses thought, "I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?"
5"Do not come closer," he said. "Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
6Then he continued, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7Then the Lord said, "I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings,
8and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey —the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
9So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them,
10therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."
14God replied to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you."
15God also said to Moses, "Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.
16"Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.
17And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.
18They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.
19"However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, even under force from a strong hand.
20But when I stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my miracles that I will perform in it, after that, he will let you go.
21And I will give these people such favor with the Egyptians that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.
22Each woman will ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians."
New Living Translation
Chapter 1
1These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, 4Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there.
6In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation.
7But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.
8Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.
9He said to his people, 'Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are.
10We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country. '
11So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.
12But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.
13So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.
14They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.
15Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah:
16When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.'
17But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.
20So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful.
21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Chapter 2
1About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 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. 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. 4The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see 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.
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.
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.
12After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.
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.
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.
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.
21Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife.
22Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, for he explained, 'I have been a 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.
24God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.
Chapter 3
1One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3This is amazing,' Moses said to himself. 'Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.'
5Do not come any closer,' the Lord warned. 'Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.
6I am the God of your father — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7Then the Lord told him, 'I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.
8So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey — the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.
9Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.
10Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.'
16Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — has appeared to me. He told me, 'I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you.
17I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey — the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.'’
19But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him.
20So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them. Then at last he will let you go.
21And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed.
22Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 1
1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
8Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9And he said to his people, "Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.
10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land."
11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.
13So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves
14and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
15Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,
16"When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live."
17But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.
18So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and let the male children live?"
19The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them."
20So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong.
21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live."
Chapter 2
1Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews ' children." 7Then his sister said to Pharaoh 's daughter, "Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" 8And Pharaoh 's daughter said to her, "Go." So the girl went and called the child 's mother. 9And Pharaoh 's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh 's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, "Because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."
11One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.
12He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, "Why do you strike your companion?"
14He answered, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid, and thought, "Surely the thing is known."
15When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by 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.
17The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock.
18When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, "How is it that you have come home so soon today?"
19They said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock."
20He said to his daughters, "Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread."
21And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.
22She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land."
23During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.
24And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25God saw the people of Israel — and God knew.
Chapter 3
1Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned." 4When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7Then the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
8and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
10Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
11But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
12He said, "But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."
13Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?"
14God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’"
15God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
16Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,
17and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey."’
18And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days ' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’
19But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.
20So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.
21And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty,
22but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians."
New International Version
Chapter 1
1These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.
6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,
7but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
8Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.
9"Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become far too numerous for us.
10Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."
11So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites
13and worked them ruthlessly.
14They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,
16"When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live."
17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.
18Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"
20So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous.
21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Chapter 2
1Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it.
6She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said.
8"Yes, go," she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother.
9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him.
10When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water."
11One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
12Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"
15When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
16Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.
21Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
22Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become a foreigner in a foreign land."
23During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
24God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
25So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
Chapter 3
1Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."
5"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
6Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
8So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
9And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
16"Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
17And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
18"The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’
19But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.
20So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
21"And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.
22Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians."
New King James Version
Chapter 1
1Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). 6And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. 7But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we;
10come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.”
11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.
13So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.
14And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage— in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
15Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah;
16and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
17But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.
18So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”
20Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.
21And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.
Chapter 2
1And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. 3But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. 4And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
5Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.
6And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
8And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.
9Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.
10And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
11Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”
14Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”
15When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.
16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
21Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.
22And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
23Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
24So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.
Chapter 3
1Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
5Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
6Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
7And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
8So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
9Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
10Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
14And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
15Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
16Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt;
17and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
18Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’
19But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.
20So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.
21And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed.
22But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
