Exodus 2:6

opened it, ¹  and saw the child ²  – a boy, ³  crying! ⁴  – and she felt compassion ⁵  for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said.

When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews’ children."

As the princess opened it, she found the baby boy. His helpless cries touched her heart. "He must be one of the Hebrew children," she said.

She opened it and saw the child--a baby crying! Her heart went out to him. She said, "This must be one of the Hebrew babies."

And opening it, she saw the child, and he was crying. And she had pity on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.

When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, "This must be one of the Hebrews’ children," she said.

And when she had opened it , she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews’ children."

opened it, ¹  and saw the child ²  – a boy, ³  crying! ⁴  – and she felt compassion ⁵  for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

¹ tn Heb “and she opened.”

² tn The grammatical construction has a pronominal suffix on the verb as the direct object along with the expressed object: “and she saw him, the child.” The second object defines the previous pronominal object to avoid misunderstanding (see GKC 425 §131.m).

³ tn The text has נַעַר (na’ar, “lad, boy, young man”), which in this context would mean a baby boy.

⁴ tn This clause is introduced with a disjunctive vav and the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold” in the KJV). The particle in this kind of clause introduces the unexpected – what Pharaoh’s daughter saw when she opened the basket: “and look, there was a baby boy crying.” The clause provides a parenthetical description of the child as she saw him when she opened the basket and does not advance the narrative. It is an important addition, however, for it puts readers in the position of looking with her into the basket and explains her compassion.

⁵ tn The verb could be given a more colloquial translation such as “she felt sorry for him.” But the verb is stronger than that; it means “to have compassion, to pity, to spare.” What she felt for the baby was strong enough to prompt her to spare the child from the fate decreed for Hebrew boys. Here is part of the irony of the passage: What was perceived by many to be a womanly weakness – compassion for a baby – is a strong enough emotion to prompt the woman to defy the orders of Pharaoh. The ruler had thought sparing women was safe, but the midwives, the Hebrew mother, the daughter of Pharaoh, and Miriam, all work together to spare one child – Moses (cf. 1 Cor 1:27-29).