Exodus 6
Easy-to-Read Version
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will use my great power against him, and he will let my people go. He will be so ready for them to leave that he will force them to go.”
2 Then God said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They called me God All-Powerful. They did not know my name, the Lord. 4 I made an agreement with them. I promised to give them the land of Canaan. They lived in that land, but it was not their own. 5 Now, I have heard their painful cries. I know that they are slaves in Egypt. And I remember my agreement. 6 So tell the Israelites that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord. I will save you. You will no longer be slaves of the Egyptians. I will use my great power to make you free, and I will bring terrible punishment to the Egyptians. 7 You will be my people and I will be your God. I am the Lord your God, and you will know that I made you free from Egypt. 8 I made a great promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised to give them a special land. So I will lead you to that land. I will give you that land. It will be yours. I am the Lord.’”
9 So Moses told this to the Israelites, but the people would not listen to him. They were working so hard that they were not patient with Moses.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go tell Pharaoh that he must let the Israelites leave his land.”
12 But Moses answered, “Lord, the Israelites refuse to listen to me. So surely Pharaoh will also refuse to listen. I am a very bad speaker.”[a]
13 But the Lord talked with Moses and Aaron and commanded them to go and talk to the Israelites and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He commanded them to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
Some of the Families of Israel
14 These are the names of the leaders of the families of Israel:
Israel’s first son, Reuben, had four sons. They were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
15 Simeon’s sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Shaul was the son from a Canaanite woman).
16 Levi lived 137 years. His sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
17 Gershon had two sons, Libni and Shimei.
18 Kohath lived 133 years. His sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
19 Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi.
All these families were from Israel’s son Levi.
20 Amram lived 137 years. He married his father’s sister, Jochebed. Amram and Jochebed gave birth to Aaron and Moses.
21 Izhar’s sons were Korah, Nepheg, and Zicri.
22 Uzziel’s sons were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba. (Elisheba was the daughter of Amminadab, and the sister of Nahshon.) Aaron and Elisheba gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24 The sons of Korah (that is, the ancestors of the Korahites) were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.
25 Aaron’s son, Eleazar, married a daughter of Putiel. She gave birth to Phinehas.
All these people were from Israel’s son, Levi.
26 Aaron and Moses were from this tribe. And they are the men the Lord spoke to and said, “Lead my people out of Israel in groups.[b]” 27 Aaron and Moses are the men who talked to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and told him to let the Israelites leave Egypt.
God Repeats His Call to Moses
28 The Lord spoke to Moses again in the land of Egypt. 29 He said, “I am the Lord. Tell the king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30 But Moses, standing there before the Lord, said, “You know me. I’m a very bad speaker. How will I make the king listen to me?”
Footnotes
- Exodus 6:12 I am a very bad speaker Or “I sound like a foreigner.” Literally, “I have uncircumcised lips.”
- Exodus 6:26 groups Or “divisions.” This is a military term. It shows that Israel was organized like an army.
Exodus 6
King James Version
6 Then the Lord said 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 of his land.
2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.
4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord.
9 And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
10 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
11 Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
12 And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
13 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14 These be the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben.
15 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon.
16 And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years.
17 The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.
18 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years.
19 And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.
20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.
21 And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri.
23 And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24 And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.
25 And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.
26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the Lord said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.
27 These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron.
28 And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt,
29 That the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I am the Lord: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.
30 And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International