Dual PanelBaby Moses
1There was a man from the family of Levi who decided to marry a woman from the tribe of Levi.
2She became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. The mother saw how beautiful the baby was and hid him for three months.
3She hid him for as long as she could. After three months she made a basket and covered it with tar so that it would float. Then she put the baby in the basket and put the basket in the river in the tall grass.
4The baby’s sister stayed and watched to see what would happen to the baby.
5Just then, Pharaoh’s daughter went to the river to bathe. She saw the basket in the tall grass. Her servants were walking beside the river, so she told one of them to go get the basket.
6The king’s daughter opened the basket and saw a baby boy. The baby was crying and she felt sorry for it. Then she noticed that it was one of the Hebrew babies.
7The baby’s sister was still hiding. She stood and asked the king’s daughter, “Do you want me to go find a Hebrew woman who can nurse the baby and help you care for it?”
8The king’s daughter said, “Yes, please.” So the girl went and brought the baby’s own mother.
9The king’s daughter said to the mother, “Take this baby and feed him for me. I’ll pay you to take care of him.” So the woman took her baby and cared for him.
10The baby grew, and after some time, the woman gave the baby to the king’s daughter. The king’s daughter accepted the baby as her own son. She named him Moses because she had pulled him from the water.
Moses Helps His People
11Moses grew and became a man. He saw that his own people, the Hebrews, were forced to work very hard. One day he saw an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man.
12Moses looked around and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.
13The next day Moses saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He saw that one man was wrong and said to him, “Why are you hurting your neighbor?”
14The man answered, “Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge? Tell me, will you kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” Then Moses was afraid. He thought to himself, “Now everyone knows what I did.”
15Pharaoh heard about what Moses did, so he decided to kill him. But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian.
Moses in Midian
Moses stopped near a well in Midian.
16There was a priest there who had seven daughters. These girls came to that well to get water for their father’s sheep. They were trying to fill the water trough with water.
17But there were some shepherds there who chased the girls away and would not let them get water. So Moses helped the girls and gave water to their animals.
18Then they went back to their father, Reuel. He asked them, “Why have you come home early today?”
19The girls answered, “The shepherds chased us away, but an Egyptian rescued us. He got water for us and gave it to our animals.”
20So Reuel said to his daughters, “Where is this man? Why did you leave him? Go invite him to eat with us.”
21Moses was happy to stay with that man. Reuel let Moses marry his daughter, Zipporah.
22Zipporah became pregnant and had a son. Moses named him Gershom because Moses was a stranger in a land that was not his own.
God Decides to Help Israel
23A long time passed and that king of Egypt died. But the Israelites were still forced to work very hard. They cried for help, and God heard them.
24God heard their painful cries and remembered the agreement he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25God saw the troubles of the Israelites, and he knew that he would soon help them.