Exodus 6
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
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.’(A)
God Promises Freedom
2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, ‘I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’[a](B) 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as foreigners.(C) 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered(D) my covenant.
6 ‘Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labour of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm(E) and great acts of judgement. 7 I will take you as my people,(F) and I will be your God. You will know(G) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labour of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore[b](H) to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’ 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen(I) to him because of their broken spirit and hard labour.
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](J) 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,(K) the firstborn of Israel:
Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.
These are the clans of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon:(L)
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 family records;
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.(M)
Levi lived for 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 for 133 years.
19 The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
These are the clans of the Levites(N)
according to their family records.
20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed,
and she bore him Aaron and Moses.(O)
Amram lived for 137 years.
21 The sons of Izhar:(P)
Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 The sons of Uzziel:
Mishael, Elzaphan,(Q) and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba,
daughter of Amminadab(R) and sister of Nahshon.
She bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.(S)
24 The sons of Korah:(T)
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.(U)
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 military divisions.’(V) 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 the Lord;(W) 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,(X) how will Pharaoh listen to me? ’
Exodus 6
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 6
1 The Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I am about to do to Pharaoh. With a mighty hand he will let them go. With a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.”
Another Account of Moses’ Call.[a] 2 God spoke to Moses and told him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God the all-powerful, but I did not reveal my name, the Lord, to them. 4 I established a covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, that land where they dwelt as aliens.
5 “And now I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel in their bondage to the Egyptians and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Therefore, say to the children of Israel, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out from your forced labor to the Egyptians. I will free you from their slavery and liberate you with an outstretched arm[b] and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord, your God, who will bring you out from your forced labor to the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore with an oath I would give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as an inheritance, for I am the Lord.’ ”
9 Moses said these things to the children of Israel, but they did not listen to him, for they were at the limits of their endurance because of their harsh slavery.[c]
10 The Lord said to Moses: 11 “Go to speak with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, so that he will let the children of Israel leave his land.” 12 But Moses said these things in God’s presence, “Behold, the children of Israel have not listened to me; how could Pharaoh listen to me, for I am a man of unskilled speech?”
13 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the children of Israel leave the land of Egypt.
14 Genealogy of Moses and Aaron. These are the heads of their families. The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of the Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon.
16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived to be one hundred and thirty-seven years old.
17 The sons of Gershon, by their clans, were Libni and Shimei.
18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived to be one hundred and thirty-three years old.
19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.
20 Amram took Jochebed as his wife. She was his father’s sister. She bore Aaron and Moses and Miriam. Amram lived to be one hundred and thirty-seven years old.
21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, as his wife. She bore Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites.
25 Eleazar, the son of Aaron, took a daughter of Putiel, as a wife. She bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the ancestral clans of Levi.
26 These are the Aaron and the Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.”
27 They told Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to let the children of Israel leave Egypt. They are Moses and Aaron.
28 Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. This is what happened when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt. 29 The Lord said to Moses, “I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, what I say to you.” 30 Moses spoke in the presence of the Lord, “Behold, I am a poor speaker, how will Pharaoh listen to me?”
Footnotes
- Exodus 6:2 The passage is from a Priestly tradition and dwells on the point that Moses and Aaron belong to the priestly family. After the doubt expressed in Ex 5:22, the redactor of the Book of Exodus seeks to reaffirm that Moses remains the chosen one of God to save his people.
- Exodus 6:6 Outstretched arm: this expression, like “mighty hand” in verse 1, suggests the power with which God intervenes.
- Exodus 6:9 Moses’ words of encouragement fell on deaf ears. As the conditions of the children of Israel worsened, their spirits were crushed.
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