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Exodus 6
Easy-to-Read Version
Exodus 6
Easy-to-Read Version
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will use my great power against him, and he will let my people go. He will be so ready for them to leave that he will force them to go.”
2 Then God said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They called me God All-Powerful. They did not know my name, the Lord. 4 I made an agreement with them. I promised to give them the land of Canaan. They lived in that land, but it was not their own. 5 Now, I have heard their painful cries. I know that they are slaves in Egypt. And I remember my agreement. 6 So tell the Israelites that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord. I will save you. You will no longer be slaves of the Egyptians. I will use my great power to make you free, and I will bring terrible punishment to the Egyptians. 7 You will be my people and I will be your God. I am the Lord your God, and you will know that I made you free from Egypt. 8 I made a great promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised to give them a special land. So I will lead you to that land. I will give you that land. It will be yours. I am the Lord.’”
9 So Moses told this to the Israelites, but the people would not listen to him. They were working so hard that they were not patient with Moses.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go tell Pharaoh that he must let the Israelites leave his land.”
12 But Moses answered, “Lord, the Israelites refuse to listen to me. So surely Pharaoh will also refuse to listen. I am a very bad speaker.”[a]
13 But the Lord talked with Moses and Aaron and commanded them to go and talk to the Israelites and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He commanded them to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
Some of the Families of Israel
14 These are the names of the leaders of the families of Israel:
Israel’s first son, Reuben, had four sons. They were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
15 Simeon’s sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Shaul was the son from a Canaanite woman).
16 Levi lived 137 years. His sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
17 Gershon had two sons, Libni and Shimei.
18 Kohath lived 133 years. His sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
19 Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi.
All these families were from Israel’s son Levi.
20 Amram lived 137 years. He married his father’s sister, Jochebed. Amram and Jochebed gave birth to Aaron and Moses.
21 Izhar’s sons were Korah, Nepheg, and Zicri.
22 Uzziel’s sons were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba. (Elisheba was the daughter of Amminadab, and the sister of Nahshon.) Aaron and Elisheba gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24 The sons of Korah (that is, the ancestors of the Korahites) were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.
25 Aaron’s son, Eleazar, married a daughter of Putiel. She gave birth to Phinehas.
All these people were from Israel’s son, Levi.
26 Aaron and Moses were from this tribe. And they are the men the Lord spoke to and said, “Lead my people out of Israel in groups.[b]” 27 Aaron and Moses are the men who talked to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and told him to let the Israelites leave Egypt.
God Repeats His Call to Moses
28 The Lord spoke to Moses again in the land of Egypt. 29 He said, “I am the Lord. Tell the king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30 But Moses, standing there before the Lord, said, “You know me. I’m a very bad speaker. How will I make the king listen to me?”
Footnotes
- Exodus 6:12 I am a very bad speaker Or “I sound like a foreigner.” Literally, “I have uncircumcised lips.”
- Exodus 6:26 groups Or “divisions.” This is a military term. It shows that Israel was organized like an army.
Exodus 6
New International Version
Exodus 6
New International Version
6 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)
2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.(D) 3 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. 4 I also established my covenant(H) with them to give them the land(I) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.(J) 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning(K) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.(L)
6 “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) 7 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. 8 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)
9 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
- Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Exodus 6:3 See note at 3:15.
- Exodus 6:12 Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30
- Exodus 6:14 The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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