Exodus 6

¹ Then the LORD answered Moses, Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. Forced by my mighty hand, he will send them away; compelled by my outstretched arm, he will drive them from his land.

² God also said to Moses, I am the LORD.

³ As God the Almighty I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but my name, LORD, I did not make known to them.

⁴ I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they were living as aliens.

⁵ And now that I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are treating as slaves, I am mindful of my covenant.

⁶ Therefore, say to the Israelites: I am the LORD. I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and will deliver you from their slavery. I will rescue you by my outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

⁷ I will take you as my own people, and you shall have me as your God. You will know that I, the LORD, am your God when I free you from the labor of the Egyptians

⁸ and bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will give it to you as your own possession--I, the LORD!

⁹ But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to him because of their dejection and hard slavery.

¹⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses,

¹¹ Go and tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the Israelites leave his land.

¹² But Moses protested to the LORD, If the Israelites would not listen to me, how can it be that Pharaoh will listen to me, poor speaker that I am!

¹³ Still, the LORD, to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them his orders regarding both the Israelites and Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

¹⁴ These are the heads of the ancestral houses. The sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben.

¹⁵ The sons of Simeon were Jenuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar and Shaul, who was the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon.

¹⁶ The names of the sons of Levi, in their genealogical order, are Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived one hundred and thirty-seven years.

¹⁷ The sons of Gershon, as heads of clans, were Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived one hundred and thirty-three years.

¹⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of Levi in their genealogical order.

²⁰ Amram married his aunt Jochebed, who bore him Aaron, Moses and Miriam. Amram lived one hundred and thirty-seven years.

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

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

²³ Aaron married Amminadab's daughter, Elisheba, the sister of Nahshon; she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²⁴ The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These are the clans of the Korahites.

²⁵ Aaron's son, Eleazar, married one of Putiel's daughters, who bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the ancestral clans of the Levites.

²⁶ This is the Aaron and this the Moses to whom the LORD said, Lead the Israelites from the land of Egypt, company by company.

²⁷ These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of Egypt--the same Moses and Aaron.

²⁸ On the day the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt

²⁹ he said, I am the LORD. Repeat to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I tell you.

³⁰ But Moses protested to the LORD, Since I am a poor speaker, how can it be that Pharaoh will listen to me?