22 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “(A)Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, (B)and You have not rescued Your people at all.”

God Promises Action

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for [a](C)under compulsion he will let them go, and [b]under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”

God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am (D)the Lord; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as [c](E)God Almighty, but by (F)My name, [d]Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. I also established (G)My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the [e]land in which they lived as strangers. Furthermore I have (H)heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘(I)I am the Lord, and (J)I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from their bondage. I will also (K)redeem you with (L)an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. Then I will take you [f](M)as My people, and (N)I will be [g]your God; and (O)you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which (P)I [h]swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and (Q)I will give it to you as a possession; (R)I am the Lord.’” So Moses said this to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on (S)account of their [i]despondency and cruel bondage.

10 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 (T)Go, [j]tell Pharaoh king of Egypt [k]to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; (U)how then will Pharaoh listen to me, as I am [l](V)unskilled in speech?” 13 Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command concerning the sons of Israel and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 6:1 Lit by a strong hand
  2. Exodus 6:1 Lit by a strong hand
  3. Exodus 6:3 Heb El Shaddai
  4. Exodus 6:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  5. Exodus 6:4 Lit land of their sojournings in which...
  6. Exodus 6:7 Lit to Me for a people
  7. Exodus 6:7 Lit to you for a God
  8. Exodus 6:8 Lit lifted up My hand
  9. Exodus 6:9 Or impatience
  10. Exodus 6:11 Lit speak to
  11. Exodus 6:11 Lit that he let
  12. Exodus 6:12 Lit uncircumcised of lips

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?(A) 23 Ever 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.”

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

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

“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. I 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. I 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.” Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen(J) 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?” [c](K) 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.

Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. 6:8 Lit raised my hand
  3. 6:12 Lit I have uncircumcised lips, also in v. 30