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The Lord God told Moses:

Soon you will see what I will do to the king. Because of my mighty power, he will let my people go, and he will even chase them out of his country.

(A) My name is the Lord.[a] But when I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I came as God All-Powerful and did not use my name. I made an agreement and promised them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. Now I have seen how the people of Israel are suffering because of the Egyptians, and I will keep my promise.

Here is my message for Israel: “I am the Lord! And with my mighty power I will punish the Egyptians and free you from slavery. I will accept you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I was the one who rescued you from the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it will be yours. I am the Lord!”

When Moses told this to the Israelites, they were too discouraged and mistreated to believe him.

10 Then the Lord told Moses 11 to demand that the king of Egypt let the Israelites leave. 12 But Moses replied, “I'm not a powerful speaker. If the Israelites won't listen to me, why should the king of Egypt?” 13 But the Lord sent Aaron and Moses with a message for the Israelites and for the king. He also ordered Aaron and Moses to free the people from Egypt.

Family Record of Aaron and Moses

14 The following men were the heads of their ancestral clans:

The sons of Reuben, Jacob's[b] oldest son, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

16 (B) Levi lived to be 137; his sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

17 Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei.

18 Kohath lived to be 133; his sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

19 Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. All of the above were from the Levi tribe.

20 Amram lived to be 137. He married his father's sister Jochebed, and they had two sons, Aaron and Moses.

21 Izhar's sons were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

22 Uzziel's sons were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23 Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon; they had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 Korah's sons were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.

25 Aaron's son Eleazar married one of Putiel's daughters, and their son was Phinehas. This ends the list of those who were the heads of clans in the Levi tribe.

26 The Lord had commanded Aaron and Moses to lead every family and tribe of Israel out of Egypt, 27 and so they told the king of Egypt to set the people of Israel free.

The Lord Commands Moses and Aaron To Speak to the King

28 When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 he said, “I am the Lord. Tell the king[c] of Egypt everything I say to you.”

30 But Moses answered, “You know I am a very poor speaker, and the king will never listen to me.”

Footnotes

  1. 6.2 My name is the Lord: See the note at 3.14,15.
  2. 6.14 Jacob: The Hebrew text has “Israel,” Jacob's name after God renamed him.
  3. 6.29 the king: See the note at 1.11.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand(A) he will let them go;(B) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”(C)

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

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

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

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

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

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.(AC)

14 These were the heads of their families[d]:(AD)

The sons of Reuben(AE) the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben.

15 The sons of Simeon(AF) were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.

16 These were the names of the sons of Levi(AG) according to their records: Gershon,(AH) Kohath and Merari.(AI) Levi lived 137 years.

17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.(AJ)

18 The sons of Kohath(AK) were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.(AL) Kohath lived 133 years.

19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.(AM)

These were the clans of Levi according to their records.

20 Amram(AN) married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses.(AO) Amram lived 137 years.

21 The sons of Izhar(AP) were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.

22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan(AQ) and Sithri.

23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab(AR) and sister of Nahshon,(AS) and she bore him Nadab and Abihu,(AT) Eleazar(AU) and Ithamar.(AV)

24 The sons of Korah(AW) were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.

25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.(AX)

These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.

26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt(AY) by their divisions.”(AZ) 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh(BA) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.(BB)

Aaron to Speak for Moses

28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord.(BC) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,(BD) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

Footnotes

  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
  4. Exodus 6:14 The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.