After this there went a man of the house of Levi; and took a wife of his own kindred.

Egressus est post hæc vir de domo Levi: et accepit uxorem stirpis suæ.

And now one of the descendants of Levi wooed and married a woman of his own clan,

And she conceived, and bore a son; and seeing him a goodly child, hid him three months.

Quæ concepit, et peperit filium: et videns eum elegantem, abscondit tribus mensibus.

who conceived and bore him a son. So winning were the child’s looks, that for three months she kept him hidden away;

And when she could hide him no longer, she took a basket made of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and pitch: and put the little babe therein, and laid him in the sedges by the river’s brink,

Cumque jam celare non posset, sumpsit fiscellam scirpeam, et linivit eam bitumine ac pice: posuitque intus infantulum, et exposuit eum in carecto ripæ fluminis,

then, unable to conceal him any longer, she took a little basket of reeds, which she smeared with clay and pitch, and in this put her baby son down among the bulrushes on the river bank.

His sister standing afar off, and taking notice what would be done.

stante procul sorore ejus, et considerante eventum rei.

The boy’s sister waited at a distance, to see what would happen.

And behold the daughter of Pharao came down to wash herself in the river: and her maids walked by the river’s brink. And when she saw the basket in the sedges, she sent one of her maids for it: and when it was brought,

Ecce autem descendebat filia Pharaonis ut lavaretur in flumine: et puellæ ejus gradiebantur per crepidinem alvei. Quæ cum vidisset fiscellam in papyrione, misit unam e famulabus suis: et allatam

Just then, Pharao’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, while her maid-servants walked along the bank. She caught sight of the basket among the rushes, and sent one of her attendants to fetch it;

She opened it and seeing within it an infant crying, having compassion on it she said: This is one of the babes of the Hebrews.

aperiens, cernensque in ea parvulum vagientem, miserta ejus, ait: De infantibus Hebræorum est hic.

and when she opened it, and saw the baby crying, her heart was touched. Why, she said, this must be one of the Hebrew children.

And the child’s sister said to her: Shall I go and call to thee a Hebrew woman, to nurse the babe?

Cui soror pueri: Vis, inquit, ut vadam, et vocem tibi mulierem hebræam, quæ nutrire possit infantulum?

And at that, the boy’s sister asked, Wouldst thou have me go and fetch one of the Hebrew women, to nurse the child for thee?

She answered: Go. The maid went and called her mother.

Respondit: Vade. Perrexit puella et vocavit matrem suam.

Go by all means, she said; and the girl went and fetched her mother.

And Pharao’s daughter said to her: Take this child and nurse him for me: I will give thee thy wages. The woman took, and nursed the child: and when he was grown up, she delivered him to Pharao’s daughter.

Ad quam locuta filia Pharaonis: Accipe, ait, puerum istum, et nutri mihi: ego dabo tibi mercedem tuam. Suscepit mulier, et nutrivit puerum: adultumque tradidit filiæ Pharaonis.

Take this boy, Pharao’s daughter said, and nurse him for me; I will reward thee for it. So the woman took the boy and nursed him till he was grown; then she handed him over to Pharao’s daughter,

And she adopted him for a son, and called him Moses, saying: Because I took him out of the water.

Quem illa adoptavit in locum filii, vocavitque nomen ejus Moyses, dicens: Quia de aqua tuli eum.

who adopted him as her own son, and gave him the name of Moses, the Rescuer; I had to rescue him, she said, from the river.

In those days after Moses was grown up, he went out to his brethren: and saw their affliction, and an Egyptian striking one of the Hebrews his brethren.

In diebus illis postquam creverat Moyses, egressus est ad fratres suos: viditque afflictionem eorum, et virum ægyptium percutientem quemdam de Hebræis fratribus suis.

A time came when Moses, now a grown-up man, went out among his brethren the Hebrews, and saw how ill they were treated, saw one of these brethren of his being beaten by an Egyptian;

And when he had looked about this way and that way, and saw no one there, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Cumque circumspexisset huc atque illuc, et nullum adesse vidisset, percussum Ægyptium abscondit sabulo.

whereupon, after looking this way and that to see that no one was near, he killed the Egyptian and buried him there in the sand.

And going out the next day, he saw two Hebrews quarrelling: and he said to him that did the wrong: Why strikest thou thy neighbour?

Et egressus die altero conspexit duos Hebræos rixantes: dixitque ei qui faciebat injuriam: Quare percutis proximum tuum?

When he went out next day, he found two Hebrews that had come to blows, and asked the aggressor what he meant by offering violence to a friend.

But he answered: Who hath appointed thee prince and judge over us: wilt thou kill me, as thou didst yesterday kill the Egyptian? Moses feared, and said: How is this come to be known?

Qui respondit: Quis te constituit principem et judicem super nos? num occidere me tu vis, sicut heri occidisti Ægyptium? Timuit Moyses, et ait: Quomodo palam factum est verbum istud?

Why, said he, who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Hast thou a mind to kill me, as thou didst kill that Egyptian yesterday? And Moses was terrified to find that his action had so strangely come to light.

And Pharao heard of this word and sought to kill Moses: but he fled from his sight, and abode in the land of Madian, and he sat down by a well.

Audivitque Pharao sermonem hunc, et quærebat occidere Moysen: qui fugiens de conspectu ejus, moratus est in terra Madian, et sedit juxta puteum.

When Pharao heard of it, he was for putting Moses to death; and Moses, to avoid his scrutiny, took refuge in the country of Madian. Here he sat down to rest by the side of a well.

And the priest of Madian had seven daughters, who came to draw water: and when the troughs were filled, desired to water their father’s flocks.

Erant autem sacerdoti Madian septem filiæ, quæ venerunt ad hauriendam aquam: et impletis canalibus adaquare cupiebant greges patris sui.

And it chanced that seven maids, daughters to the priest of Madian, came out and began drawing water, to fill the troughs and water their father’s sheep.

And the shepherds came and drove them away: and Moses arose, and defending the maids, watered their sheep.

Supervenere pastores, et ejecerunt eas: surrexitque Moyses, et defensis puellis, adaquavit oves earum.

But now came shepherds, and would have turned the maidens away, until Moses stood up for them, and himself watered their sheep.

And when they returned to Raguel their father, he said to them: Why are ye come sooner than usual?

Quæ cum revertissent ad Raguel patrem suum, dixit ad eas: Cur velocius venistis solito?

When they reached home their father, Raguel, asked them why they were earlier than their wont;

They answered: A man of Egypt delivered us from the hands of the shepherds: and he drew water also with us, and gave the sheep to drink.

Responderunt: Vir ægyptius liberavit nos de manu pastorum: insuper et hausit aquam nobiscum, potumque dedit ovibus.

and they told him, There was an Egyptian there, who took our part against the shepherds, and then drew water for us himself, for our sheep to drink.

But he said: Where is he? why have you let the man go? call him that he may eat bread.

At ille: Ubi est? inquit: quare dimisistis hominem? vocate eum ut comedat panem.

Upon which he asked, What has become of this man? Why did you part from his company? Bid him come in and eat.

And Moses swore that he would dwell with him. And he took Sephora his daughter to wife:

Juravit ergo Moyses quod habitaret cum eo. Accepitque Sephoram filiam ejus uxorem:

So it came about that Moses bound himself by an oath to live there with Raguel, and wedded his daughter Sephora.

And she bore him a son, whom he called Gersam, saying: I have been a stranger in a foreign country. And she bore another, whom he called Eliezer, saying: For the God of my father, my helper hath delivered me out of the hand of Pharao.

quæ peperit ei filium, quem vocavit Gersam, dicens: Advena fui in terra aliena. Alterum vero peperit, quem vocavit Eliezer, dicens: Deus enim patris mei adjutor meus eripuit me de manu Pharaonis.

The first son she bore him he called Gersam, as if he would say, I have been a stranger, Ger, in an alien land. And when she bore another son, Moses called him Eliezer, Help from God; the God of my father (said he) has helped me to escape from the power of Pharao.

Now after a long time the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel groaning, cried out because of the works: and their cry went up unto God from the works.

Post multum vero tempore mortuus est rex Ægypti: et ingemiscentes filii Israël, propter opera vociferati sunt: ascenditque clamor eorum ad Deum ab operibus.

Then, after a long while, the king of Egypt died, and the cry of the Israelites, still groaning aloud in their drudgery, went up to God, who took pity on this drudgery of theirs,

And he heard their groaning, and remembered the covenant which he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Et audivit gemitum eorum, ac recordatus est fœderis quod pepigit cum Abraham, Isaac et Jacob.

and listened to their complaint; he had not forgotten the covenant which he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And the Lord looked upon the children of Israel, and he knew them.

Et respexit Dominus filios Israël et cognovit eos.

So it was that the Lord looked down in mercy on the Israelites, and took heed of them.