He was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a great man in words and deeds.

He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his help and took revenge on the Egyptian by killing him.

It was faith that made Moses, when he had grown up, refuse to be called the son of the king's daughter.

He reckoned that to suffer scorn for the Messiah was worth far more than all the treasures of Egypt, for he kept his eyes on the future reward.

So the Egyptians put slave drivers over them to crush their spirits with hard labor. The Israelites built the cities of Pithom and Rameses to serve as supply centers for the king.

Then the LORD said, "I have seen how cruelly my people are being treated in Egypt; I have heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave drivers. I know all about their sufferings,

Make them work harder and keep them busy, so that they won't have time to listen to a pack of lies."

The Egyptian slave drivers beat the Israelite foremen, whom they had put in charge of the work. They demanded, "Why aren't you people making the same number of bricks that you made before?"

"The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free.

"Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed