Exodus 6

1 And Jehovah said to Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh; for by a strong hand shall he let them go, and by a strong hand shall he drive 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 Jehovah.

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

3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as the Almighty God; but by my name Jehovah I was not made known to them.

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 also my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were sojourners.

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 have heard also the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians have forced to serve, and I have remembered my covenant.

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 Therefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their service, and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments.

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 for a people, and will be your God; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah your God, am he who bringeth you out from under the burdens 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 swore to give it unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; and I will give it you for a possession: I am Jehovah.

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 children of Israel; but they did not listen to Moses from anguish of spirit, and from hard service.

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 Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

11 Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go 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 Jehovah, saying, Lo, the children of Israel do not hearken to me: how then should Pharaoh hearken to me, to me of uncircumcised lips?

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 Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a commandment to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring 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 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Enoch and Phallu, Hezron and Carmi: these are the families of Reuben.

(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 Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Saul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon.

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 generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven years.

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 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.

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

18 And the sons of Kohath: Amram, and Jizhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath 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: Mahli and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.

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 Amram took Jochebed his aunt as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven 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 Jizhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zicri.

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

22 And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri.

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

23 And Aaron took Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, 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 Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korahites.

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

25 And Eleazar Aaron's son took [one] of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.

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 that Aaron and Moses, to whom Jehovah said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.

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 who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: this is that Moses and Aaron.

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

28 And it came to pass on the day when Jehovah spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,

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

29 that Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, I am Jehovah: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.

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

30 And Moses said before Jehovah, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how will Pharaoh hearken unto 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]