11. Moses grew and became a man. One day he visited his people, the Hebrews. He saw that they were forced to work very hard. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man, one of Moses’ own people.
12. Moses looked all around and saw that no one was watching. So he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
13. The next day Moses returned and saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He saw that one man was in the wrong. Moses said to that man, “Why are you hitting one of your own people?”
14. The man answered, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”Then Moses was afraid. He thought, “Now everyone knows what I did.”
15. When the king heard about what Moses had done, he tried to kill Moses. 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 for their father’s sheep. They were trying to fill the water troughs for their father’s sheep.
17. But some shepherds came and chased the girls away. Then Moses defended the girls and watered their sheep.
18. Then they went back to their father, Reuel, also called Jethro. 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 sheep.”
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.
22. Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom. Moses named him this because Moses was a stranger in a land that was not his own.
23. After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel groaned because they were forced to work very hard. They cried for help. And God heard them.
24. God heard their cries, and he remembered the agreement he had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.