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Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you are going to see what I will do to the king. I will force him to let my people go. In fact, I will force him to drive them out of his land.”

God Calls Moses

(A)God spoke to Moses and said, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as Almighty God, but I did not make myself known to them by my holy name, the Lord.[a] I also made my covenant with them, promising to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they had lived as foreigners. Now I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have remembered my covenant. So tell the Israelites that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord; I will rescue you and set you free from your slavery to the Egyptians. I will raise my mighty arm to bring terrible punishment upon them, and I will save you. I will make you my own people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God when I set you free from slavery in Egypt. I will bring you to the land that I solemnly promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as your own possession. I am the Lord.’” Moses told this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to him, because their spirit had been broken by their cruel slavery.

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go and tell the king of Egypt that he must let the Israelites leave his land.”

12 But Moses replied, “Even the Israelites will not listen to me, so why should the king? I am such a poor speaker.”

13 The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron: “Tell the Israelites and the king of Egypt that I have ordered you to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.”

The Family Record of Moses and Aaron

14 Reuben, Jacob's first-born, had four sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; they were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names. 15 Simeon had six sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; they were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names. 16 (B)Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; they were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names. Levi lived 137 years. 17 Gershon had two sons: Libni and Shimei, and they had many descendants. 18 Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. 19 Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of Levi with their descendants.

20 Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. 21 Izhar had three sons: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 Uzziel also had three sons: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon; she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 Korah had three sons: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; they were the ancestors of the divisions of the clan of Korah. 25 Eleazar, Aaron's son, married one of Putiel's daughters, who bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the families and the clans of the tribe of Levi.

26 Aaron and Moses were the ones to whom the Lord said, “Lead the tribes of Israel out of Egypt.” 27 They were the men who told the king of Egypt to free the Israelites.

The Lord's Command to Moses and Aaron

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

30 But Moses answered, “You know that I am such a poor speaker; why should the king listen to me?”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 6:3 See 3.14.

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.