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Exodus 2:15–21

Moses Escapes to Midian

15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But aMoses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and 1settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down bby a well.

16 Now athe priest of Midian had seven daughters; and bthey came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but aMoses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.

18 When they came to aReuel their father, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?”

19 So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock.”

20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him 1to have something to eat.”

21 aMoses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter bZipporah to Moses.

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Exodus 2:15–21 — The New International Version (NIV)

15 When 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. 16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.

18 When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

20 “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”

21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.

Exodus 2:15–21 — English Standard Version (ESV)

15 When 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.

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.

Exodus 2:15–21 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

15 Now 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. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. 20 And 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. 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

Exodus 2:15–21 — New Living Translation (NLT)

15 And 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. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. 17 But 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.

18 When the girls returned to Reuel, their father, he asked, “Why are you back so soon today?”

19 “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered. “And then he drew water for us and watered our flocks.”

20 “Then where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave him there? Invite him to come and eat with us.”

21 Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife.

Exodus 2:15–21 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

15 When 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.

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”

19 And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”

20 So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”

21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.

Exodus 2:15–21 — New Century Version (NCV)

15 When the king heard what Moses had done, he tried to kill him. But Moses ran away from the king and went to live in the land of Midian. There he sat down near a well.

16 There was a priest in Midian who had seven daughters. His daughters went to that well to get water to fill the water troughs for their father’s flock. 17 Some shepherds came and chased the girls away, but Moses defended the girls and watered their flock.

18 When they went back to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you come home early today?”

19 The girls answered, “The shepherds chased us away, but an Egyptian defended us. He got water for us and watered our flock.”

20 He asked his daughters, “Where is this man? Why did you leave him? Invite him to eat with us.”

21 Moses agreed to stay with Jethro, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife.

Exodus 2:15–21 — American Standard Version (ASV)

15 Now 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.

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to-day? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock. 20 And 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. 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

Exodus 2:15–21 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

15 And Pharaoh heard of this matter, and sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from before Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian. And he sat by the well.

16 And the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs, to water their father’s flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses rose and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, Why are ye come so soon to-day? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water abundantly for us, and watered the flock. 20 And he said to his daughters, And where is he? why then have ye left the man behind? Call him, that he may eat bread. 21 And Moses consented to remain with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

Exodus 2:15–21 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

15 When Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he tried to have him killed. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian. 

One day, while Moses was sitting by a well, 16 seven daughters of the priest of Midian came. They drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s sheep. 17 But some shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses got up, came to their defense, and then watered their sheep. 

18 When they came back to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you come home so early today?” 

19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from some shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the sheep.” 

20 Reuel asked his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man there? Go, invite him to supper.” 

21 Moses decided to stay with the man. So Reuel gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife.

Exodus 2:15–21 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

15 When Pharaoh heard about this, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then some shepherds arrived and drove them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their flock. 18 When they returned to their father Reuel he asked, “Why have you come back so quickly today?”

19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

20 “So where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why then did you leave the man behind? Invite him to eat dinner.”

21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.

Exodus 2:15–21 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses.

But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well. 16 The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defense and watered their flock. 18 When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come back so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to break bread.” 21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage.

Exodus 2:15–21 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

15 And Pharaoh heard this matter, and he sought to kill Moses, and Moses fled from Pharaoh, and he lived in the land of Midian, and he lived at a certain well.

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and came to their rescue and watered their flock. 18 And they came to Reuel, their father, and he said, “Why have you come so quickly today?” 19 And they said, “An Egyptian man delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 And he said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why then have you left the man? Call him so that he can eat some food.” 21 And Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.

Exodus 2:15–21 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

15 When 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.

16 A 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. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove the women away. But Moses got up and helped them. Then he gave water to their flock.

18 The young women returned to their father Reuel. He asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

19 They answered, “An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds. He even got water for us and gave it to the flock.”

20 “Where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”

21 Moses agreed to stay with the man. And the man gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife.


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