God Promises Deliverance

22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?(A) 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(B) 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(C) he will let them go;(D) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”(E)

God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.(F) I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,[a](G) but by my name(H) the Lord[b](I) I did not make myself fully known to them. I also established my covenant(J) with them to give them the land(K) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.(L) Moreover, I have heard the groaning(M) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.(N)

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.(O) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem(P) you with an outstretched arm(Q) and with mighty acts of judgment.(R) I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.(S) Then you will know(T) 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(U) I swore(V) with uplifted hand(W) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.(X) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”(Y)

Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.(Z)

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell(AA) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”(AB)

12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen(AC) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips[c]?”(AD)

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.(AE)

Notas al pie

  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

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.

Notas al pie

  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