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 lived as strangers. 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 labors of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from their bondage. I will also 14redeem you with 15an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. 7Then I will take you 1617as 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 labors 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 as a possession; 24I am the Lord.’” 9So Moses said this 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, as I am 3132unskilled in speech?” 13Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command concerning the sons of Israel and 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. 15And the 34sons of Simeon: 35Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. 16And these are the names of 36the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and the 37length of Levi’s life was 137 years. 1738The sons of Gershon: 39Libni and Shimei, according to their families. 18And 40the sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and the 41length of Kohath’s life was 133 years. 19And 42the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. 20Now 43Amram 44married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the 45length of Amram’s life was 137 years. 21And 46the sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22And 47the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, 48Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23Aaron 49married Elisheba, the daughter of 50Amminadab, the sister of 51Nahshon, and she bore him 52Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24And the 53sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and 54Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. 25Now Aaron’s son 55Eleazar 56married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him 57Phinehas. 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, “58Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their 5960multitudes.” 27They were the ones 61who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt 62about 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, “63I am the Lord; 64say to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am 6566unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”