Exodus 6

God Promises Action

1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for 12under compulsion he will let them go, and 3under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”

2God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am 4the Lord; 3and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as 56God Almighty, but by 7My name, 8Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. 4I also established 9My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the 10land in which they sojourned. 5Furthermore I have 11heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘12I am the Lord, and 13I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also 14redeem you with 15an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7Then I will take you 1617for My people, and 18I will be 19your God; and 20you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8I will bring you to the land which 21I 22swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and 23I will give it to you for a possession; 24I am the Lord.’” 9So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on 25account of their 26despondency and cruel bondage.

10Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11“27Go, 28tell Pharaoh king of Egypt 29to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 12But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; 30how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am 3132unskilled in speech?” 13Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Heads of Israel

14These are the heads of their fathers’ households. 33The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben. 15The 34sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. 16These are the names of 35the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the 36length of Levi’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years. 1737The sons of Gershon: 38Libni and Shimei, according to their families. 1839The sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel; and the 40length of Kohath’s life was one hundred and thirty-three years. 1941The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. 2042Amram 43married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the 44length of Amram’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years. 2145The sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri. 2246The sons of Uzziel: Mishael and 47Elzaphan and Sithri. 23Aaron 48married Elisheba, the daughter of 49Amminadab, the sister of 50Nahshon, and she bore him 51Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24The 52sons of Korah: Assir and Elkanah and 53Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. 25Aaron’s son 54Eleazar 55married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him 56Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families. 26It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “57Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their 58hosts.” 27They were the ones 59who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt 60about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.

28Now it came about on the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “61I am the Lord; 62speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you.” 30But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am 6364unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”