Exodus 6

1 Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Now, shalt thou see, what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand, shall he let them go, and with a strong hand, shall he drive them out from 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 spake unto Moses, —and said unto him, I, am Yahweh:

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

3 I appeared, therefore, unto Abraham unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as GOD Almighty, —although, by my name Yahweh was I 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 Moreover also I established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, —even the land of their sojournings wherein they sojourned.

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 Moreover also, I heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians, were holding in servitude, So then I 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 thou to the sons of Israel-I, am Yahweh, Therefore will I bring you forth from under the burdens of Egypt, And will deliver you out of their service, And 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 will take you to myself for a people, And will become your God, —And ye shall know that, I Yahweh, am your God, who brought you forth from under the burdens of Egypt:

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 as to which I uplifted my hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, —and will give it to you as an inheritance: I, am Yahweh.

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 spake thus unto the sons of Israel, but they hearkened not unto Moses, through shortness of spirit, and through 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 Yahweh spake unto Moses saying:

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

11 Go in speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the sons 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 spake before Yahweh, saying, —Lo! the sons of Israel have not hearkened unto me, how then shall Pharaoh, hear, I, also being 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 Thus then did Yahweh speak unto Moses and unto Aaron, yea he gave them a charge unto the sons of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, for the bringing forth of the sons 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 ancestral house: The sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel, Hanoch and Pallu, 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 Shaul the son of a Canaanitess. 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 by 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 by 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 Izhar, 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 the Levites by 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 So then, Amram took Jochebed, his father’s sister to himself to wife, and she bare to him—Aaron and Moses. And, the years of the life of Amram, were a hundred and thirty-seven.

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 Izhar, Korah and Nepheg, and Zichri.

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, to himself to wife, —and she bare to 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, son of Aaron took to himself [one] of the daughters of Putiel, to himself to wife, and she bare to him Phinehas. These, are the heads of the fathers of the Levites by 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 The same, Aaron and Moses, —to whom said Yahweh, Bring ye forth the sons of Israel out of 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 They who were to speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring forth the sons of Israel out of Egypt: The same, Moses and Aaron.

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

28 Thus came it to pass, that on a certain day, Yahweh spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt.

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

29 So then Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying—I, am Yahweh: Speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, all that, I, am speaking unto thee.

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

30 And Moses said before Yahweh, —Lo! I, am of uncircumcised lips, how then 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]