1 In the fifty-fifth year of the reign of Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim, that is in the hundred and fifty-seventh year of the Yisra’elites going down into Mitsrayim, Mosheh reigned in Kush.
2 Mosheh was twenty-seven years old when he began to reign over Kush, and he reigned forty years.
3 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 granted Mosheh favour and kindness in the eyes of all the children of Kush, and the children of Kush loved him exceedingly, so Mosheh was favoured by 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 and by men.
4 And in the seventh day of his reign, all the children of Kush assembled and came before Mosheh and bowed down to him to the ground.
5 And all the children spoke together in the presence of the sovereign, saying, “Give us counsel that we may see what is to be done to this city,
6 for it is now nine years that we have been besieging round about the city, and have not seen our children and our wives.”
7 So the sovereign answered them, saying, “If you will listen to my voice in all that I shall command you, then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 will give the city into our hands and we shall subdue it,
8 for if we fight against them as in the former battle which we had with them before the death of Kikianus, many of us will fall down wounded as before.
9 “Now therefore look, here is counsel for you in this matter; if you will listen to my voice, then the city will be delivered into our hands.”
10 So all the armies answered the sovereign, saying, “All that our master shall command, that we will do.”
11 And Mosheh said to them, “Pass through and make a call in the whole camp to all the people, saying,
12 ‘Thus says the sovereign, “Go into the forest and bring with you the young of the stork, each man a young one in his hand.
13 “And any person transgressing the word of the sovereign, who shall not bring his young one, he shall die, and the sovereign will take all belonging to him.
14 “And when you shall bring them they shall be in your keeping; you shall raise them until they grow up, and you shall teach them to dart upon, as is the way of the young of the hawk.” ’ ”
15 So all the children of Kush heard the words of Mosheh, and they rose up and sent a call to be issued throughout the camp, saying,
16 “Unto you, all the children of Kush, the sovereign’s order is: that you go all together to the forest, and catch there the young storks, each man his young one in his hand, and you shall bring them home.
17 “And any person violating the order of the sovereign shall die, and the sovereign will take all that belongs to him.”
18 And all the people did so, and they went out to the forest and they climbed the fir trees and caught, each man a young one in his hand, all the young of the storks. And they brought them into the desert and reared them by order of the sovereign, and they taught them to dart upon, similar to the young hawks.
19 And after the young storks were reared, the sovereign ordered them to be hungered for three days, and all the people did so.
20 And on the third day, the sovereign said to them, “Strengthen yourselves and become mighty men, and each man put on his armour and gird his sword upon him, and each man ride his horse and each take his young stork in his hand.
21 “And we will rise up and fight against the city at the place where the serpents are.” And all the people did as the sovereign had ordered.
22 And each man took his young one in his hand, and they went away, and when they came to the place of the serpents the sovereign said to them, “Each man send out his young stork upon the serpents.”
23 And each man sent out his young stork at the sovereign’s order, and the young storks ran upon the serpents and they devoured them all and destroyed them out of that place.
24 And when the sovereign and people had seen that all the serpents were destroyed in that place, all the people raised up a great shout.
25 And they approached and fought against the city and took it and subdued it, and they entered the city.
26 And there died on that day one thousand and one hundred men of the people of the city; all that inhabited the city, but not one of the people besieging died.
27 So all the children of Kush went each to his home, to his wife and children and to all belonging to him.
28 And Bil’am the magician, when he saw that the city was taken, opened the gate and he and his two sons and eight brothers fled and returned to Mitsrayim to Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim.
29 They are the sorcerers and magicians who are mentioned in the Book of the Torah, standing against Mosheh when 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 brought the plagues upon Mitsrayim.
30 So Mosheh took the city by his wisdom, and the children of Kush placed him on the throne instead of Kikianus sovereign of Kush.
31 And they placed the royal crown upon his head, and they gave him for a wife Aḏoniyah the Kushite sovereigness, wife of Kikianus.
32 And Mosheh revered 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 Elohim of his fathers, so that he did not come to her, nor did he turn his eyes to her,
33 for Mosheh remembered how Aḇraham had made his servant El’azar swear, saying to him, “You shall not take a woman from the daughters of Kena’an for my son Yitsḥaq.”
34 Also what Yitsḥaq did when Ya’aqoḇ had fled from his brother, when he commanded him, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Kena’an, nor make alliance with any of the children of Ḥam.
35 “For 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 our Elohim gave Ḥam son of Noaḥ, and his children and all his seed, as slaves to the children of Shĕm and to the children of Yepheth, and to their seed after them for slaves, forever.”
36 Therefore Mosheh did not turn his heart nor his eyes to the wife of Kikianus all the days that he reigned over Kush.
37 And Mosheh revered 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 his Elohim all his life, and Mosheh walked before 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 in truth, with all his heart and being, he did not turn from the right Way all the days of his life. He did not turn aside from the Way either to the right or to the left, in which Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq and Ya’aqoḇ had walked.
38 And Mosheh strengthened himself in the reign of the children of Kush, and he guided the children of Kush with his usual wisdom, and Mosheh prospered in his reign.
39 And at that time Aram and the children of the East heard that Kikianus sovereign of Kush had died, so Aram and the children of the East rebelled against Kush in those days.
40 And Mosheh gathered all the children of Kush, a very mighty people, about thirty thousand men, and he went out to fight against Aram and the children of the East.
41 And they went at first to the children of the East, and when the children of the East heard their report, they went to meet them, and engaged in battle with them.
42 And the battle was fierce against the children of the East, so 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 gave all the children of the East into the hand of Mosheh, and about three hundred men fell down slain.
43 And all the children of the East turned back and retreated, so Mosheh and the children of Kush followed them and subdued them, and put them to compulsory labour, as was their custom.
44 So Mosheh and all the people with him passed over from there to the land of Aram for battle.
45 And the people of Aram also went to meet them, and they fought against them, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 delivered them into the hand of Mosheh, and many of the men of Aram fell down wounded.
46 And Aram also were subdued by Mosheh and the people of Kush, and also gave their usual levy.
47 And Mosheh brought Aram and the children of the East under subjection to the children of Kush, and Mosheh and all the people who were with him, returned to the land of Kush.
48 And Mosheh strengthened himself in the reign of the children of Kush, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 was with him, and all the children of Kush revered him.