Moses Is Born
1A man and a woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2She became pregnant and had a son by her husband. She saw that her baby was a fine child. And she hid him for three months. 3After that, she couldn’t hide him any longer. So she got a basket made out of the stems of tall grass. She coated the basket with tar. She placed the child in the basket. Then she put it in the tall grass that grew along the bank of the Nile River. 4The child’s sister wasn’t very far away. She wanted to see what would happen to him.
5Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile River to take a bath. Her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass. So she sent her female slave to get it. 6When she opened it, Pharaoh’s daughter saw the baby. He was crying. She felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
7Then his sister spoke to Pharaoh’s daughter. She asked, “Do you want me to go and get one of the Hebrew women? She could breast-feed the baby for you.”
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 feed him for me. I’ll pay you.” So the woman took the baby and fed him. 10When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter. And he became her son. She named him Moses. She said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
Moses Escapes to Midian
11Moses grew up. One day, he went out to where his own people were. He watched them while they were hard at work. He saw an Egyptian hitting a Hebrew man. The man was one of Moses’ own people. 12Moses looked around and didn’t see anyone. So he killed the Egyptian. Then he hid his body in the sand. 13The next day Moses went out again. He saw two Hebrew men fighting. He asked the one who had started the fight a question. He said, “Why are you hitting another Hebrew man?”
14The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking about killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became afraid. He thought, “People must have heard about what I did.”
15When Pharaoh heard about what had happened, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses escaped from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian. There he sat down by a well. 16A priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to fill the stone tubs with water. They wanted to give water to their father’s flock. 17Some shepherds came along and chased the girls away. But Moses got up and helped them. Then he gave water to their flock.
18The girls returned to their father Reuel. He asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
19They answered, “An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds. He even got water for us and gave it to the flock.”
20“Where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”
21Moses agreed to stay with the man. And the man gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife. 22Zipporah had a son by him. Moses named him Gershom. That’s because Moses said, “I’m an outsider in a strange land.”
23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel groaned because they were slaves. They also cried out to God. Their cry for help went up to him. 24God heard their groans. He remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25So God looked on the Israelites with concern for them.
O Nascimento de Moisés
1Um homem da tribo de Levi casou-se com uma mulher da mesma tribo, 2e ela engravidou e deu à luz um filho. Vendo que era bonito, ela o escondeu por três meses. 3Quando já não podia mais escondê-lo, pegou um cesto feito de junco e o vedou com piche e betume. Colocou nele o menino e deixou o cesto entre os juncos, à margem do Nilo. 4A irmã do menino ficou observando de longe para ver o que lhe aconteceria.
5A filha do faraó descera ao Nilo para tomar banho. Enquanto isso, as suas servas andavam pela margem do rio. Nisso viu o cesto entre os juncos e mandou sua criada apanhá-lo. 6Ao abri-lo, viu um bebê chorando. Ficou com pena dele e disse: “Este menino é dos hebreus”.
7Então a irmã do menino aproximou-se e perguntou à filha do faraó: “A senhora quer que eu vá chamar uma mulher dos hebreus para amamentar e criar o menino?”
8“Quero”, respondeu ela. E a moça foi chamar a mãe do menino. 9Então a filha do faraó disse à mulher: “Leve este menino e amamente-o para mim, e eu pagarei você por isso”. A mulher levou o menino e o amamentou. 10Tendo o menino crescido, ela o levou à filha do faraó, que o adotou e lhe deu o nome de Moisés, dizendo: “Porque eu o tirei das águas”.
Moisés Mata um Egípcio e Foge para Midiã
11Certo dia, sendo Moisés já adulto, foi ao lugar onde estavam os seus irmãos hebreus e descobriu como era pesado o trabalho que realizavam. Viu também um egípcio espancar um dos hebreus. 12Correu o olhar por todos os lados e, não vendo ninguém, matou o egípcio e o escondeu na areia.
13No dia seguinte saiu e viu dois hebreus brigando. Então perguntou ao agressor: “Por que você está espancando o seu companheiro?” 14O homem respondeu: “Quem o nomeou líder e juiz sobre nós? Quer matar-me como matou o egípcio?” Moisés teve medo e pensou: “Com certeza tudo já foi descoberto!”
15Quando o faraó soube disso, procurou matar Moisés, mas este fugiu e foi morar na terra de Midiã. Ali assentou-se à beira de um poço. 16Ora, o sacerdote de Midiã tinha sete filhas. Elas foram buscar água para encher os bebedouros e dar de beber ao rebanho de seu pai. 17Alguns pastores se aproximaram e começaram a expulsá-las dali; Moisés, porém, veio em auxílio delas e deu água ao rebanho.
18Quando as moças voltaram a seu pai Reuel2.18 Também chamado Jetro. Veja 3.1., este lhes perguntou: “Por que voltaram tão cedo hoje?”
19Elas responderam: “Um egípcio defendeu-nos dos pastores e ainda tirou água do poço para nós e deu de beber ao rebanho”.
20“Onde está ele?”, perguntou o pai a elas. “Por que o deixaram lá? Convidem-no para comer conosco.”
21Moisés aceitou e concordou também em morar na casa daquele homem; este lhe deu por mulher sua filha Zípora. 22Ela deu à luz um menino, a quem Moisés deu o nome de Gérson, dizendo: “Sou imigrante em terra estrangeira”.
23Muito tempo depois, morreu o rei do Egito. Os israelitas gemiam e clamavam debaixo da escravidão; e o seu clamor subiu até Deus. 24Ouviu Deus o lamento deles e lembrou-se da aliança que fizera com Abraão, Isaque e Jacó. 25Deus olhou para os israelitas e viu a situação deles.
