Exodus 6

1 And the Lord said to Moses, Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharao; for he shall send them forth with a mighty hand, and with a high arm shall he cast them out of his land.

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Now you will see what I will do to the king [and his people]. I will powerfully [MTY] compel him to let my people go. In fact, by my power [MTY] [I will force] him to expel them from his land!”

2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him, I [am] the Lord.

God also said to Moses/me, “I am Yahweh.

3 And I appeared to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, being their God, but I did not manifest to them my name Lord.

I am the one who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and [told them that I] was God Almighty, but I did not [tell] them that my name [was Yahweh].

4 And I established my covenant with them, to give them the land of the Chananites, the land wherein they sojourned, in which also they dwelt as strangers.

I also made my solemn agreement with them, promising to give them the Canaan region. That was the area in which they were living as foreigners.

5 And I hearkened to the groaning of the children of Israel (the affliction with which the Egyptians enslave them) and I remembered the covenant with you.

Furthermore, I have heard the Israeli people as they were groaning [because of the hard work that] the Egyptians forced them to do as their slaves. I have thought about that solemn promise [that I made].

6 Go, speak to the children of Israel, saying, I [am] the Lord; and I will lead you forth from the tyranny of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from bondage, and I will ransom you with a high arm, and great judgment.

So tell the Israeli people that [I said this: ] ‘I am Yahweh. I will free you from the burdens [of heavy work] that the Egyptians [have given you]. I will free you from being their slaves. With my great power [MTY] and by punishing them [MTY] very severely, I will save you.

7 And I will take you to me a people for myself, and will be your God; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the tyranny of the Egyptians.

I will cause you to be my own people, and I will be your God, [the one you worship]. You will truly know that I, Yahweh your God, am the one who has freed you from the burdens [of work as slaves] of the Egyptians.

8 And I will bring you into the land concerning which I stretched out my hand to give it to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, and I will give it you for an inheritance: I [am] the Lord.

And I will bring you to the land that I solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. You will possess it [forever]. I, Yahweh, am [promising this].’”

9 And Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, and they hearkened not to Moses for faint-heartedness, and for their hard tasks.

Moses/I told that to the Israeli people, but they did not believe what he/I said. They were very discouraged [IDM] because of the hard work [that they had been forced to do as slaves].

10 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

11 Go in, speak to Pharao king of Egypt, that he send forth the children of Israel out of his land.

“Go and tell the king of Egypt [again] that he must allow the Israeli people to leave his land!”

12 And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel hearkened not to me, and how shall Pharao hearken to me? and I am not eloquent.

But Moses/I said to Yahweh, “Listen [to what I am saying]. [Even] the Israeli people have not paid attention to what I [told them]. But I am a poor speaker. [MET, MTY] So (why should the king pay attention to what I tell him?/the king will certainly not pay attention to what I [tell him]!)” [RHQ]

13 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a charge to Pharao king of Egypt, that he should send forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

But Yahweh spoke to Aaron and Moses/me and commanded them/us, “Tell the Israeli people and the king of Egypt that I have [commissioned you two] to lead the Israeli people out of Egypt.”

14 And these are the heads of the houses of their families: the sons of Ruben the first-born of Israel; Enoch and Phallus, Asron, and Charmi, this is the kindred of Ruben.

(Here is/I will now give you) a list of the ancestors of [Moses/me and Aaron]: The sons of Reuben, who was Jacob’s oldest son, [were] Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. They were [ancestors of] the clans [that have those same names].

15 And the sons of Symeon, Jemuel and Jamin, and Aod, and Jachin and Saar, and Saul the son of a Phoenician woman, these are the families of the sons of Symeon.

The sons of Simeon [were] Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul. Shaul’s mother was a woman from the Canaan people-group. Those men also were [ancestors of] clans [that have those same names].

16 And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their kindreds, Gedson, Caath, and Merari; and the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven.

These are the names of the sons of Levi, in the order in which they were born: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi was 137 years old [when he died].

17 And these are the sons of Gedson, Lobeni and Semei, the houses of their family. And the sons of Caath,

The sons of Gershon [were] Libni and Shimei. They were ancestors of clans that have those names.

18 Ambram and Issaar, Chebron, and Oziel; and the years of the life of Caath were a hundred and thirty-three years.

The sons of Kohath [were] Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath was 133 years old [when he died].

19 And the sons of Merari, Mooli, and Omusi, these are the houses of the families of Levi, according to their kindreds.

The sons of Merari [were] Mahli and Mushi. All of those people whose names [I have listed] belonged to tribes/clans descended from Levi, in the order in which they were born.

20 And Ambram took to wife Jochabed the daughter of his father's brother, and she bore to him both Aaron and Moses, and Mariam their sister: and the years of the life of Ambram were a hundred and thirty-two years.

Amram married his father’s sister, Jochebed. She was the mother of Aaron and Moses/me. Amram was 137 years old [when he died].

21 And the sons of Issaar, Core, and Naphec, and Zechri.

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

22 And the sons of Oziel, Misael, and Elisaphan, and Segri.

The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23 And Aaron took to himself to wife Elisabeth daughter of Aminadab sister of Naasson, and she bore to him both Nadab and Abiud, and Eleazar and Ithamar.

Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon. Elisheba gave birth to [four sons]: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 And the sons of Core, Asir, and Elkana, and Abiasar, these are the generations of Core.

The sons of Korah [were] Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. They were the ancestors of the Korah people-group.

25 And Eleazar the son of Aaron took to himself for a wife [one] of the daughters of Phutiel, and she bore to him Phinees. These are the heads of the family of the Levites, according to their generations.

Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she gave birth to Phinehas. [That ends the list of] the families and clans that were descended from Levi.

26 This is Aaron and Moses, whom God told to bring out the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt with their forces.

Aaron and Moses/I were the ones to whom Yahweh said, “Lead all the families and clans of the Israeli people out of Egypt.”

27 These are they that spoke with Pharao king of Egypt, and Aaron himself and Moses brought out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,

They/We were the ones who spoke to the king of Egypt about bringing the Israeli people out of Egypt.

28 in the day in which the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt;

On the day that Yahweh spoke to Moses/me in Egypt,

29 then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, I am the Lord: speak to Pharao king of Egypt whatsoever I say to thee.

he said, “I am Yahweh. You must tell the king everything that I say to you.”

30 And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am not able in speech, and how shall Pharao hearken to me?

But Moses/I said to Yahweh, “Listen to me. I am not a good speaker. [MET, MTY] So (the king will certainly not pay attention to what I say/why should the king pay attention to what I tell him?)!” [RHQ]