Exodus 6

1 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!”

And the Lord said to Moses, Now you will see what I am about to do to Pharaoh; for by a strong hand he will be forced to let them go, driving them out of his land because of my outstretched arm.

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

And God said to Moses, I am Yahweh:

3 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].

I let myself be seen by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God, the Ruler of all; but they had no knowledge of my name Yahweh.

4 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.

And I made an agreement with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their wanderings.

5 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].

And truly my ears are open to the cry of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep under their yoke; and I have kept in mind my agreement.

6 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.

Say then to the children of Israel, I am Yahweh, and I will take you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians, and make you safe from their power, and will make you free by the strength of my arm after great punishments.

7 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.

And I will take you to be my people and I will be your God; and you will be certain that I am the Lord your God, who takes you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

8 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].’”

And I will be your guide into the land which I made an oath to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for your heritage: I am Yahweh.

9 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].

And Moses said these words to the children of Israel, but they gave no attention to him, because of the grief of their spirit and the cruel weight of their work.

10 Yahweh said to Moses/me,

And the Lord said to Moses,

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

Go in and say to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he is to let the children of Israel go out of his land.

12 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]

And Moses, answering the Lord, said, See, the children of Israel will not give ear to me; how then will Pharaoh give ear to me, whose lips are unclean?

13 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.”

And the word of the Lord came to Moses and Aaron, with orders for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to take the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

14 (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].

These are the heads of their fathers' families: the sons of Reuben the oldest son of Israel: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi: these are the families of Reuben.

15 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].

And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul, the son of a woman of Canaan: these are the families of Simeon.

16 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].

And these are the names of the sons of Levi in the order of their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari: and the years of Levi's life were a hundred and thirty-seven.

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

The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, in the order of their families.

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

And the sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel: and the years of Kohath's life were a hundred and thirty-three.

19 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.

And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi: these are the families of the Levites, in the order of their generations.

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

And Amram took Jochebed, his father's sister, as wife; and she gave birth to Aaron and Moses: and the years of Amram's life were a hundred and thirty-seven.

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

And the sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri.

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

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

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

And Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon; and she gave birth to Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

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

And the sons of Korah: Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korahites.

25 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.

And Eleazar, Aaron's son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel; and she gave birth to Phinehas. These are the heads of the families of the Levites, in the order of their families.

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

These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, Take the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt in their armies.

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

These are the men who gave orders to Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go out of Egypt: these are the same Moses and Aaron.

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

And on the day when the word of the Lord came to Moses in the land of Egypt,

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

The Lord said to Moses, I am the Lord: say to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything I am saying to you.

30 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]

And Moses said to the Lord, My lips are unclean; how is it possible that Pharaoh will give me a hearing?