6:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
6:2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.
6:3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,* but by my name the Lord** I did not make myself fully known to them. / *Hebrew El-Shaddai / **See note at 3:15.
6:4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.
6:5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
6:6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
6:7 I 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.
6:8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”
6:9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.
6:10 Then the Lord said to Moses,
6:11 “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”
6:12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips*?” / *Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30
6:13 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
6:14 These were the heads of their families*: The sons of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben. / *The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.
6:15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.
6:16 These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.
6:17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.
6:18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.
6:19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi according to their records.
6:20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
6:21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.
6:22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri.
6:23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
6:24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.
6:25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.
6:26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.”
6:27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt - this same Moses and Aaron.
6:28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt,
6:29 he said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
6:30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”