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Exodus 5-6
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Exodus 5-6
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Moses Confronts Pharaoh
5 Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Let My people go, so that they may hold a festival for Me in the wilderness.”(A)
2 But Pharaoh responded, “Who is Yahweh that I should obey Him by letting Israel go? I do not know anything about Yahweh, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”(B)
3 Then they answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God, or else He may strike us with plague or sword.”
4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your work!” 5 Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from working.”(C)
Further Oppression of Israel
6 That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers(D) of the people as well as their foremen: 7 “Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out,(E) ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words.”
10 So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says:(F) ‘I am not giving you straw. 11 Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’” 12 So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The overseers insisted, “Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided.” 14 Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten(G) and asked, “Why haven’t you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”
15 So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way? 16 No straw has been given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but it is your own people who are at fault.”
17 But he said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work. No straw will be given to you, but you must produce the same quantity of bricks.”
19 The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.
21 “May the Lord take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek in front of Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!”(H)
22 So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have You caused trouble for this people? And why did You ever send me?(I) 23 Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in Your name he has caused trouble for this people, and You haven’t delivered Your people at all.” 6 1 But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you are going to see what I will do to Pharaoh: he will let them go because of My strong hand; he will drive them out of his land because of My strong hand.”(J)
God Promises Freedom
2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am Yahweh. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I did not reveal My name Yahweh to them.(K) 4 I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as foreigners.(L) 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered(M) My covenant.
6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am Yahweh, and I will deliver you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and free you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm(N) and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as My people,(O) and I will be your God. You will know(P) that I am Yahweh your God, who delivered you from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore[a](Q) to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am Yahweh.” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen(R) to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.
10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”
12 But Moses said in the Lord’s presence: “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?”[b](S) 13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
Genealogy of Moses and Aaron
14 These are the heads of their fathers’ families:
The sons of Reuben,(T) the firstborn of Israel:
Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.
These are the clans of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon:(U)
Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin,
Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
These are the clans of Simeon.
16 These are the names of the sons of Levi
according to their genealogy:
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.(V)
Levi lived 137 years.
17 The sons of Gershon:
Libni and Shimei, by their clans.
18 The sons of Kohath:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
Kohath lived 133 years.
19 The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
These are the clans of the Levites(W)
according to their genealogy.
20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed,
and she bore him Aaron and Moses.(X)
Amram lived 137 years.
21 The sons of Izhar:(Y)
Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 The sons of Uzziel:
Mishael, Elzaphan,(Z) and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba,
daughter of Amminadab(AA) and sister of Nahshon.
She bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.(AB)
24 The sons of Korah:(AC)
Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.
These are the clans of the Korahites.
25 Aaron’s son Eleazar married
one of the daughters of Putiel
and she bore him Phinehas.(AD)
These are the heads of the Levite families by their clans.
26 It was this Aaron and Moses whom the Lord told, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their divisions.”(AE) 27 Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh
28 On the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 He said to him, “I am Yahweh;(AF) tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I am telling you.”
30 But Moses replied in the Lord’s presence, “Since I am such a poor speaker,[c](AG) how will Pharaoh listen to me?”
Footnotes
- Exodus 6:8 Lit raised My hand
- Exodus 6:12 Lit I have uncircumcised lips
- Exodus 6:30 Lit I have uncircumcised lips
Exodus 5-6
New International Version
Exodus 5-6
New International Version
Bricks Without Straw
5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go,(A) so that they may hold a festival(B) to me in the wilderness.’”
2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,(C) that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”(D)
3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey(E) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues(F) or with the sword.”
4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?(G) Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,(H) and you are stopping them from working.”
6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers(I) and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;(J) let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.(K) They are lazy;(L) that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’(M) 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
10 Then the slave drivers(N) and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced(O) at all.’” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed,(P) demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
15 Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
17 Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy!(Q) That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work.(R) You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
19 The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge(S) you! You have made us obnoxious(T) to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword(U) in their hand to kill us.”(V)
God Promises Deliverance
22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?(W) Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued(X) your people at all.”
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand(Y) he will let them go;(Z) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”(AA)
2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.(AB) 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,[a](AC) but by my name(AD) the Lord[b](AE) I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant(AF) with them to give them the land(AG) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.(AH) 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning(AI) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.(AJ)
6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.(AK) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem(AL) you with an outstretched arm(AM) and with mighty acts of judgment.(AN) 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.(AO) Then you will know(AP) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land(AQ) I swore(AR) with uplifted hand(AS) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.(AT) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”(AU)
9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.(AV)
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell(AW) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”(AX)
12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen(AY) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips[c]?”(AZ)
Family Record of Moses and Aaron
13 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.(BA)
14 These were the heads of their families[d]:(BB)
The sons of Reuben(BC) the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon(BD) were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.
16 These were the names of the sons of Levi(BE) according to their records: Gershon,(BF) Kohath and Merari.(BG) Levi lived 137 years.
17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.(BH)
18 The sons of Kohath(BI) were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.(BJ) Kohath lived 133 years.
19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.(BK)
These were the clans of Levi according to their records.
20 Amram(BL) married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses.(BM) Amram lived 137 years.
21 The sons of Izhar(BN) were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.
22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan(BO) and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab(BP) and sister of Nahshon,(BQ) and she bore him Nadab and Abihu,(BR) Eleazar(BS) and Ithamar.(BT)
24 The sons of Korah(BU) were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.
25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.(BV)
These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.
26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt(BW) by their divisions.”(BX) 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh(BY) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.(BZ)
Aaron to Speak for Moses
28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord.(CA) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,(CB) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
Footnotes
- Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Exodus 6:3 See note at 3:15.
- Exodus 6:12 Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30
- Exodus 6:14 The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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