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And afterwards have Moses and Aaron entered, and they say unto Pharaoh, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Send My people away, and they keep a feast to Me in the wilderness;'

and Pharaoh saith, `Who [is] Jehovah, that I hearken to His voice, to send Israel away? I have not known Jehovah, and Israel also I do not send away.'

And they say, `The God of the Hebrews hath met with us, let us go, we pray thee, a journey of three days into the wilderness, and we sacrifice to Jehovah our God, lest He meet us with pestilence or with sword.'

And the king of Egypt saith unto them, `Why, Moses and Aaron, do ye free the people from its works? go to your burdens.'

Pharaoh also saith, `Lo, numerous now [is] the people of the land, and ye have caused them to cease from their burdens!'

And Pharaoh commandeth, on that day, the exactors among the people and its authorities, saying,

`Ye do not add to give straw to the people for the making of the bricks, as heretofore -- they go and have gathered straw for themselves;

and the proper quantity of the bricks which they are making heretofore ye do put on them, ye do not diminish from it, for they are remiss, therefore they are crying, saying, Let us go, let us sacrifice to our God;

let the service be heavy on the men, and let them work at it, and not be dazzled by lying words.'

10 And the exactors of the people, and its authorities, go out, and speak unto the people, saying, `Thus said Pharaoh, I do not give you straw,

11 ye -- go ye, take for yourselves straw where ye find [it], for there is nothing of your service diminished.'

12 And the people is scattered over all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw,

13 and the exactors are making haste, saying, `Complete your works, the matter of a day in its day, as when there is straw.'

14 And the authorities of the sons of Israel, whom the exactors of Pharaoh have placed over them, are beaten, saying, `Wherefore have ye not completed your portion in making brick as heretofore, both yesterday and to-day?'

15 And the authorities of the sons of Israel come in and cry unto Pharaoh, saying, `Why dost thou thus to thy servants?

16 Straw is not given to thy servants, and they are saying to us, Make bricks, and lo, thy servants are smitten -- and thy people hath sinned.'

17 And he saith, `Remiss -- ye are remiss, therefore ye are saying, Let us go, let us sacrifice to Jehovah;

18 and now, go, serve; and straw is not given to you, and the measure of bricks ye do give.'

19 And the authorities of the sons of Israel see them in affliction, saying, `Ye do not diminish from your bricks; the matter of a day in its day.'

20 And they meet Moses and Aaron standing to meet them, in their coming out from Pharaoh,

21 and say unto them, `Jehovah look upon you, and judge, because ye have caused our fragrance to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants -- to give a sword into their hand to slay us.'

22 And Moses turneth back unto Jehovah, and saith, `Lord, why hast Thou done evil to this people? why [is] this? -- Thou hast sent me!

23 and since I have come unto Pharaoh, to speak in Thy name, he hath done evil to this people, and Thou hast not at all delivered Thy people.'

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Now dost thou see that which I do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand he doth send them away, yea, with a strong hand he doth cast them out of his land.'

And God speaketh unto Moses, and saith unto him, `I [am] Jehovah,

and I appear unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty; as to My name Jehovah, I have not been known to them;

and also I have established My covenant with them, to give to them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, wherein they have sojourned;

and also I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians are causing to serve, and I remember My covenant.

`Therefore say to the sons of Israel, I [am] Jehovah, and I have brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and have delivered you from their service, and have redeemed you by a stretched-out arm, and by great judgments,

and have taken you to Me for a people, and I have been to you for God, and ye have known that I [am] Jehovah your God, who is bringing you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians;

and I have brought you in unto the land which I have lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and have given it to you -- a possession; I [am] Jehovah.'

And Moses speaketh so unto the sons of Israel, and they hearkened not unto Moses, for anguish of spirit, and for harsh service.

10 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

11 `Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he doth send the sons of Israel out of his land;

12 and Moses speaketh before Jehovah, saying, `Lo, the sons of Israel have not hearkened unto me, and how doth Pharaoh hear me, and I of uncircumcised lips?'

13 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and chargeth them for the sons of Israel, and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt.

14 These [are] heads of the house of their fathers: Sons of Reuben first-born of Israel [are] Hanoch, and Phallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these [are] families of Reuben.

15 And sons of Simeon [are] Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul, son of the Canaanitess: these [are] families of Simeon.

16 And these [are] the names of the sons of Levi, as to their births: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi [are] a hundred and thirty and seven years.

17 The sons of Gershon [are] Libni, and Shimi, as to their families.

18 And the sons of Kohath [are] Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath [are] a hundred and thirty and three years.

19 And the sons of Merari [are] Mahli and Mushi: these [are] families of Levi, as to their births.

20 And Amram taketh Jochebed his aunt to himself for a wife, and she beareth to him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram [are] a hundred and thirty and seven years.

21 And sons of Izhar [are] Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.

22 And sons of Uzziel [are] Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23 And Aaron taketh Elisheba daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to himself for a wife, and she beareth to him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 And sons of Korah [are] Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these [are] families of the Korhite.

25 And Eleazar, Aaron's son, hath taken to him [one] of the daughters of Putiel for a wife to himself, and she beareth to him Phinehas: these [are] heads of the fathers of the Levites, as to their families.

26 This [is] Aaron -- and Moses -- to whom Jehovah said, `Bring ye out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, by their hosts;'

27 these are they who are speaking unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt, this [is] Moses -- and Aaron.

28 And it cometh to pass in the day of Jehovah's speaking unto Moses in the land of Egypt,

29 that Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `I [am] Jehovah, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I am speaking unto thee.'

30 And Moses saith before Jehovah, `Lo, I [am] of uncircumcised lips, and how doth Pharaoh hearken unto me?'

Bricks Without Straw

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.’”

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)

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.”

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!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,(H) and you are stopping them from working.”

That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers(I) and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;(J) let them go and gather their own straw. 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) 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.”

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)

God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.(AB) 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. I also established my covenant(AF) with them to give them the land(AG) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.(AH) Moreover, I have heard the groaning(AI) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.(AJ)

“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) 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. 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)

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

  1. Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  2. Exodus 6:3 See note at 3:15.
  3. Exodus 6:12 Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30
  4. Exodus 6:14 The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.