King James Version

Exodus 2:3

And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

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Hebrew

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וְלֹאveloand no , -r,לֹאconjunction, particle, negative — “and no , -r,”H3808not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles[idiom] before, [phrase] or else, ere, [phrase] except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), ([idiom] as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, [phrase] surely, [phrase] as trul…יָכְלָ֣הyakhelahbe ableיָכֹלverb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “be able”, a completed actionH3201to be able, literally (can, could) or morally (may, might)be able, any at all (ways), attain, can (away with, (-not)), could, endure, might, overcome, have power, prevail, still, suffer.עוֹד֮odagainעוֹדadverb — “again”H5750properly, iteration or continuance; used only adverbially (with or without preposition), again, repeatedly, still, moreagain, [idiom] all life long, at all, besides, but, else, further(-more), henceforth, (any) longer, (any) more(-over), [idiom] once, since, (be) still, when, (good, the) while (having being), (as, because, whether, while) yet (within).הַצְּפִינוֹ֒hatsfinvolurk privilyצָפַןverb, hiphil, infinitive construct, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “lurk privily”, the to-form of the verbH6845to hide (by covering over); by implication, to hoard or reserve; figuratively to deny; specifically (favorably) to protect, (unfavorably) to lurkesteem, hide(-den one, self), lay up, lurk (be set) privily, (keep) secret(-ly, place).וַתִּֽקַּֽחvatiqachand takeלָקַחconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “and take”, the next action in the storyH3947to take (in the widest variety of applications)accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, [idiom] many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.לוֹ֙lvotoלוֹ֙preposition, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “to”toתֵּ֣בַתtevatarkתֵּבָהnoun, common, feminine, singular, construct — “ark”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH8392a boxark.גֹּ֔מֶאgomerushגֹּמֶאnoun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “rush”, the ordinary formH1573properly, an absorbent, i.e. the bulrush (from its porosity); specifically the papyrus(bul-) rush.וַתַּחְמְרָ֥הvatachmerahand daubחָמַרconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, feminine, singular, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “and daub”, the next action in the storyH2560properly, to boil up; hence, to ferment (with scum); to glow (with redness); to smear with pitchdaub, befoul, be red, trouble.בַחֵמָ֖רvachemarin slimeחֵמָרpreposition, with the article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “in slime”, the ordinary formH2564bitumen (as rising to the surface)slime(-pit).וּבַזָּ֑פֶתuvazafetand in pitchזֶפֶתconjunction, preposition, with the article, noun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “and in pitch”, the ordinary formH2203asphalt (from its tendency to soften in the sun)pitch.וַתָּ֤שֶׂםvatasemand putשׂוּםconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “and put”, the next action in the storyH7760to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)[idiom] any wise, appoint, bring, call (a name), care, cast in, change, charge, commit, consider, convey, determine, [phrase] disguise, dispose, do, get, give, heap up, hold, impute, lay (down, up), leave, look, make (out), mark, [phrase]…בָּהּ֙bahinבָּהּ֙preposition, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “in”inאֶתetobject markerאֵתparticle, direct object marker — “object marker”H853properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)(as such unrepresented in English).הַיֶּ֔לֶדhayeledthe childיֶלֶדdefinite article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “the child”, the ordinary formH3206something born, i.e. a lad or offspringboy, child, fruit, son, young man (one).וַתָּ֥שֶׂםvatasemand putשׂוּםconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “and put”, the next action in the storyH7760to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)[idiom] any wise, appoint, bring, call (a name), care, cast in, change, charge, commit, consider, convey, determine, [phrase] disguise, dispose, do, get, give, heap up, hold, impute, lay (down, up), leave, look, make (out), mark, [phrase]…בַּסּ֖וּףbasufin flagסוּףpreposition, with the article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “in flag”, the ordinary formH5488a reed, especially the papyrusflag, Red (sea), weed. Compare H5489 (סוּף).עַלalaboveעַלpreposition — “above”H5921above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsabove, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, [idiom] as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, [idiom] both and, by (reason of), [idiom] had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of,…שְׂפַ֥תsefatlanguageשָׂפָהnoun, common, feminine, singular, construct — “language”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH8193the lip (as a natural boundary); by implication, language; by analogy, a margin (of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.)band, bank, binding, border, brim, brink, edge, language, lip, prating, (sea-)shore, side, speech, talk, (vain) words.הַיְאֹֽרhayorthe riverיְאֹרdefinite article, noun, proper name — “the river”H2975a channel, e.g. a fosse, canal, shaft; specifically the Nile, as the one river of Egypt, including its collateral trenches; also the Tigris, as the main river of Assyriabrook, flood, river, stream.

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink.

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

Young’s Literal Translation

and she hath not been able any more to hide him, and she taketh for him an ark of rushes, and daubeth it with bitumen and with pitch, and putteth the lad in it, and putteth [it] in the weeds by the edge of the River;

World English Bible

When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.

Darby Translation

And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of reeds, and plastered it with resin and with pitch, and put the child in it, and laid [it] in the sedge on the bank of the river.

Douay-Rheims

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,

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink.

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

And when they could no longer hide him, his mother took for him an ark, and besmeared it with bitumen, and cast the child into it, and put it in the ooze by the river.

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἐδύναντο αὐτὸ ἔτι κρύπτειν, ἔλαβεν αὐτῷ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ θῖβιν, καὶ κατέχρισεν αὐτὴν ἀσφαλτοπίσσῃ, καὶ ἐνέβαλε τὸ παιδίον εἰς αὐτήν, καὶ ἔθηκεν αὐτὴν εἰς τὸ ἕλος παρὰ τὸν ποταμόν.