Exodus 2:1-14

Now a man from the family of Levi married a woman who was also from the family of Levi. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw how wonderful the baby was, she hid him for three months. But after three months she was not able to hide the baby any longer, so she got a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar so that it would float. She put the baby in the basket. Then she put the basket among the tall stalks of grass at the edge of the Nile River. The baby’s sister stood a short distance away to see what would happen to him. Then the daughter of the king of Egypt came to the river to take a bath, and her servant girls were walking beside the river. When she saw the basket in the tall grass, she sent her slave girl to get it. The king’s daughter opened the basket and saw the baby boy. He was crying, so she felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew babies.” Then the baby’s sister asked the king’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?” The king’s daughter said, “Go!” So the girl went and got the baby’s own mother. The king’s daughter said to the woman, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took her baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, the woman took him to the king’s daughter, and she adopted the baby as her own son. The king’s daughter named him Moses, because she had pulled him out of the water. Moses grew and became a man. One day he visited his people and saw that they were forced to work very hard. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man, one of Moses’ own people. Moses looked all around and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. The next day Moses returned and saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He said to the one that was in the wrong, “Why are you hitting one of your own people?” The man answered, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was afraid and thought, “Now everyone knows what I did.”