God Renews His Promise to Israel

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For (A)with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand (B)he will drive them out of his land.”

And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am [a]the Lord. (C)I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as (D)God Almighty, but by My name (E)Lord[b] I was not known to them. (F)I have also [c]established My covenant with them, (G)to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their [d]pilgrimage, (H)in which they were [e]strangers. And (I)I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Therefore say to the children of Israel: (J)‘I am the Lord; (K)I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will (L)rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with [f]an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will (M)take you as My people, and (N)I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out (O)from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I (P)swore[g] to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ” So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; (Q)but they did not heed Moses, because of (R)anguish[h] of spirit and cruel bondage.

10 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

12 And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for (S)I am [i]of uncircumcised lips?”

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a (T)command[j] for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Family of Moses and Aaron(U)

14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: (V)The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. 15 (W)And the sons of Simeon were [k]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon. 16 These are the names of (X)the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven. 17 (Y)The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families. 18 And (Z)the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three. 19 (AA)The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

20 Now (AB)Amram took for himself (AC)Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him (AD)Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven. 21 (AE)The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 And (AF)the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. 23 Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of (AG)Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him (AH)Nadab, Abihu, (AI)Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 And (AJ)the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. 25 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and (AK)she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.

26 These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their (AL)armies.”[l] 27 These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, (AM)to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron.

Aaron Is Moses’ Spokesman

28 And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the Lord. (AN)Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”

30 But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, (AO)I am [m]of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 6:2 Heb. YHWH
  2. Exodus 6:3 Heb. YHWH, traditionally Jehovah
  3. Exodus 6:4 made or ratified
  4. Exodus 6:4 sojournings
  5. Exodus 6:4 sojourners, temporary residents
  6. Exodus 6:6 Mighty power
  7. Exodus 6:8 promised, lit. lifted up My hand
  8. Exodus 6:9 Lit. shortness
  9. Exodus 6:12 One who does not speak well
  10. Exodus 6:13 charge
  11. Exodus 6:15 Nemuel, Num. 26:12
  12. Exodus 6:26 hosts
  13. Exodus 6:30 One who does not speak well

God Promises Action

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

10 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 (R)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; (S)how then will Pharaoh listen to me, as I am [l](T)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.

The Heads of Israel

14 These are the heads of their fathers’ households. (U)The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben. 15 And the (V)sons of Simeon: [m]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. 16 And these are the names of (W)the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and the [n]length of Levi’s life was 137 years. 17 (X)The sons of Gershon: [o]Libni and Shimei, according to their families. 18 And (Y)the sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and the [p]length of Kohath’s life was 133 years. 19 And (Z)the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. 20 Now (AA)Amram [q]married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the [r]length of Amram’s life was 137 years. 21 And (AB)the sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 And (AC)the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, [s]Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron [t]married Elisheba, the daughter of (AD)Amminadab, the sister of (AE)Nahshon, and she bore him (AF)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24 And the (AG)sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and [u]Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. 25 Now Aaron’s son (AH)Eleazar [v]married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him (AI)Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families. 26 It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “(AJ)Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their [w](AK)multitudes.” 27 They were the ones (AL)who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt [x]about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.

28 Now it came about on the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “(AM)I am the Lord; (AN)say to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am [y](AO)unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”

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
  13. Exodus 6:15 In Num 26:12 and 1 Chr 4:24, Nemuel
  14. Exodus 6:16 Lit years
  15. Exodus 6:17 In 1 Chr 23:7, Ladan
  16. Exodus 6:18 Lit years
  17. Exodus 6:20 Lit took to him as a wife
  18. Exodus 6:20 Lit years
  19. Exodus 6:22 In Num 3:30, Elizaphan
  20. Exodus 6:23 Lit took to him as a wife
  21. Exodus 6:24 In 1 Chr 6:23 and 9:19, Ebiasaph
  22. Exodus 6:25 Lit took to him as a wife
  23. Exodus 6:26 I.e., multitudes in battle formation
  24. Exodus 6:27 Lit to bring out
  25. Exodus 6:30 Lit uncircumcised of lips

God reassures Moses

The Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I’ll do to Pharaoh. In fact, he’ll be so eager to let them go that he’ll drive them out of his land by force.”

God also said to Moses: “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty,[a] but I didn’t reveal myself to them by my name ‘The Lord.’ I also set up my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan where they lived as immigrants. I’ve also heard the cry of grief of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have turned into slaves, and I’ve remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I’ll bring you out from Egyptian forced labor. I’ll rescue you from your slavery to them. I’ll set you free with great power and with momentous events of justice. I’ll take you as my people, and I’ll be your God. You will know that I, the Lord, am your God, who has freed you from Egyptian forced labor. I’ll bring you into the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I’ll give it to you as your possession. I am the Lord.’” Moses told this to the Israelites. But they didn’t listen to Moses, because of their complete exhaustion and their hard labor.

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, to let the Israelites out of his land.”

12 But Moses said to the Lord, “The Israelites haven’t even listened to me. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen to me, especially since I’m not a very good speaker?” 13 Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, giving them orders to let the Israelites go from the land of Egypt.

Family line of Moses and Aaron

14 These were the leaders of their households.

The descendants of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

These were Reuben’s clans. 15 The Simeonites: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, a Canaanite woman’s son. These were Simeon’s clans.

16 These were the Levites’ names by their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. 17 The Gershonites: Libni and Shimei and their clans. 18 The Kohathites: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. 19 The Merarites: Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their generations.

20 Amram married Jochebed, his father’s sister. She gave birth to Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. 21 The Izharites: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 The Uzzielites: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron married Elisheba, Amminadab’s daughter and Nahshon’s sister. She gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The Korahites: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans. 25 Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of Putiel’s daughters. She gave birth to Phinehas. These were the leaders of Levite households by their clans.

26 It was this same Aaron and Moses whom the Lord commanded, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in military formation.” 27 It was also this same Moses and Aaron who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

28 At the time the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, everything that I’ve said to you.”

30 But Moses replied to the Lord, “Look, I’m not a very good speaker. How is Pharaoh ever going to listen to me?”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 6:3 Heb El Shaddai or God of the Mountain

Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.

And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:

And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.

And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.

And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:

And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord.

And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

10 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

11 Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

12 And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?

13 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

14 These be the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben.

15 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon.

16 And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years.

17 The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.

18 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years.

19 And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.

20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.

21 And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.

22 And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri.

23 And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.

25 And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.

26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the Lord said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.

27 These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron.

28 And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt,

29 That the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I am the Lord: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.

30 And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?