Exodus 6

¹But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

²God also told Moses, “I am the LORD. ³I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty,^{+6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai} but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them. ⁴I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners. ⁵Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant.

⁶Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸And I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD!’”

⁹Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.

¹⁰So the LORD said to Moses, ¹¹“Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.”

¹²But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?^{+6:12 Hebrew I have uncircumcised lips; also in verse 30}”

¹³Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁴These were the heads of their fathers’ houses:

• The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.

• ¹⁵The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar,^{+6:15 Zohar is a variant of Zerah; see Numbers 26:13 and 1 Chronicles 4:24.} and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.

• ¹⁶These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.

• ¹⁷The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, by their clans.

• ¹⁸The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.

• ¹⁹The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.

• These were the clans of the Levites according to their records.

• ²⁰And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

• ²¹The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

• ²²The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan,^{+6:22 Elzaphan is a variant of Elizaphan; see Numbers 3:30.} and Sithri.

• ²³And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

• ²⁴The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.^{+6:24 Abiasaph is a variant of Ebiasaph; see 1 Chronicles 6:23 and 1 Chronicles 9:19.} These were the clans of the Korahites.

• ²⁵Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.

• These were the heads of the Levite families by their clans.

²⁶It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.” ²⁷Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

²⁸Now on the day that the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt, ²⁹He said to him, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I say to you.”

³⁰But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “Since I am unskilled in speech, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”