Exodus 5:22-6:13

Christian Standard Bible

²²So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me?^(A) ²³Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all.”

6 But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.”^(B)

God Promises Freedom

²Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. ³I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’^[a]^(C) ⁴I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.^(D) ⁵Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered^(E) my covenant.

⁶“Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm^(F) and great acts of judgment. ⁷I will take you as my people,^(G) and I will be your God. You will know^(H) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. ⁸I will bring you to the land that I swore^[b]^(I) to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” ⁹Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen^(J) to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.

¹⁰Then the Lord spoke to Moses, ¹¹“Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”

¹²But 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?” ^[c]^(K) ¹³Then 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.

Footnotes

6:3 Lord (in small capitals) stands for the personal name of God, which in Hb is Yahweh. There is a long tradition of substituting “Lord” for “Yahweh” out of reverence.
6:8 Lit raised my hand
6:12 Lit I have uncircumcised lips, also in v. 30

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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