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!”

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. You will see this, for he will let them go because of my strong hand. Because of my strong hand, he will drive them out of his land.”

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

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “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 appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty; but by my name, Yahweh, I was not known to them.

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.

I also established my covenant with them, in order to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as non-citizens, the land in which they wandered about.

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].

Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have called to mind my covenant.

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.

Therefore, say to the Israelites, 'I am Yahweh. I will bring you out from slavery under the Egyptians, and I will free you from their power. I will rescue you with a display of my power, and with mighty acts of judgment.

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.

I will take you to myself as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from slavery under 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].’”

I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. 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].

When Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to him because of their discouragement about their harsh slavery.

10 Yahweh said to Moses/me,

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

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

“Go tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Israel go from 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]

Moses said to Yahweh, “If the Israelites have not listened to me, why will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am not good at speaking?”

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.”

Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He gave them a command for the Israelites and for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites 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 were the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanok, Pallu, Hezron, and Karmi. These were the clan ancestors 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].

The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul—the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clan ancestors 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].

Here are listed the names of the sons of Levi, together with their descendants. They were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived until he was 137 years old.

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

The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei.

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

The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived until he was 133 years old.

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.

The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These became the clan ancestors of the Levites, together with their descendants.

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].

Amram married Jochebed, his father's sister. She bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years and then died.

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

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

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

The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, 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.

Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon. She bore him 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.

The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the clan ancestors 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.

Eleazar, Aaron's son, married one of the daughters of Putiel. She bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the fathers' houses among the Levites, together with their descendants.

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 two men were the Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, “Bring out the Israelites from the land of Egypt, by their groups of fighting men.”

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

Aaron and Moses spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to allow them bring out the Israelites from Egypt. These were the same Moses and Aaron.

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

When Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,

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

he said to him, “I am Yahweh. Say to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything that I will tell 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]

But Moses said to Yahweh, “I am not good at speaking, so why will Pharaoh listen to me?”