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Exodus 6
The Voice
Exodus 6
The Voice
6 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: Now you will see what I have in store for Pharaoh. When Pharaoh sees the power of My hand, he will not only send My people from this land, he will drive them out.
2 (pointedly to Moses) I am the Eternal. 3 I revealed Myself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God-All-Powerful;[a] but I did not reveal My name, the Eternal One, to them. 4 I also made My covenant with them. I promised I would give them Canaan—the land where their ancestors lived as strangers. 5 In addition, I have heard the constant cries of the Israelites who have been enslaved by the Egyptians. I have remembered My covenant; 6 go now and tell the people of Israel, “I am the Eternal, and I will rescue you from the heavy load the Egyptians have laid on you. I will liberate you from their oppression. I will stretch out my powerful arm and free you with amazing acts of judgment. 7 Then I will gather you to Me as My people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Eternal who rescued you from the heavy load the Egyptians have put on you. 8 I will lead you into Canaan—the very land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession for I am the Eternal.”
9 So Moses went and told these things to the Israelites, but they turned a deaf ear to him because they were in such low spirits and exhausted from their harsh labor.
10 The Eternal One once again instructed Moses.
Eternal One: 11 Go speak with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and tell him to release the Israelites from his land.
Moses: 12 The Israelites haven’t paid attention to anything I’ve said. How do You expect Pharaoh to listen to me if my own people won’t? I am not fit to speak for You.
13 The Eternal then addressed Moses and Aaron and gave them instructions about dealing with the Israelites and Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The instructions had to do with bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.
14 These are the heads of their fathers’ families: The sons of Reuben, who was the firstborn of Israel—Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. This is the clan of Reuben. 15 Simeon’s sons—Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul (a Canaanite woman’s son). 16 Levi’s sons (according to the genealogical records)—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived to be 137 years old. 17 Gershon’s sons—Libni and Shimei; each became the head of a clan. 18 Kohath’s sons—Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived to be 133 years old. 19 Merari’s sons—Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of Levi according to the genealogical records. 20 Amram married his father’s sister, Jochebed, and she gave birth to his sons Aaron and Moses. Amram lived to be 137 years old. 21 Izhar’s sons—Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 Uzziel’s sons—Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron married Elisheba (Amminadab’s daughter and Nahshon’s sister). Elisheba gave birth to his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 Korah’s sons—Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. The clans of Korah descended from these. 25 Aaron’s son, Eleazar, married one of Putiel’s daughters, and she gave birth to his son Phinehas. These are the ancestors which founded the various clans of the Levites.
Up until this point in the story, Moses has taken the lead in rescuing the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage. But this genealogy signals that Aaron will play an increasingly important role in the days ahead. Both Moses and Aaron are descended from Levi—whose children are set aside to serve Israel as priests—but the genealogy traces Aaron’s lineage, not Moses’. Later generations will look back at Aaron as the ideal priest.
26-27 These are the same Aaron and Moses whom the Eternal directed, “Lead the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like a victorious army.” These two brothers spoke to Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, about releasing the Israelites from Egypt.
28-29 One day the Eternal visited Moses in Egypt and said to him,
Eternal One: I am the Eternal. Go tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, everything that I tell you.
Moses: 30 Please, I am not fit to speak for You. How do You expect Pharaoh to listen to me?
Footnotes
- 6:3 Hebrew, El Shaddai
Exodus 6
New International Version
Exodus 6
New International Version
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand(A) he will let them go;(B) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”(C)
2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.(D) 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,[a](E) but by my name(F) the Lord[b](G) I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant(H) with them to give them the land(I) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.(J) 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning(K) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.(L)
6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.(M) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem(N) you with an outstretched arm(O) and with mighty acts of judgment.(P) 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.(Q) Then you will know(R) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land(S) I swore(T) with uplifted hand(U) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.(V) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”(W)
9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.(X)
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell(Y) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”(Z)
12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen(AA) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips[c]?”(AB)
Family Record of Moses and Aaron
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.(AC)
14 These were the heads of their families[d]:(AD)
The sons of Reuben(AE) the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon(AF) were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.
16 These were the names of the sons of Levi(AG) according to their records: Gershon,(AH) Kohath and Merari.(AI) Levi lived 137 years.
17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.(AJ)
18 The sons of Kohath(AK) were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.(AL) Kohath lived 133 years.
19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.(AM)
These were the clans of Levi according to their records.
20 Amram(AN) married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses.(AO) Amram lived 137 years.
21 The sons of Izhar(AP) were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.
22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan(AQ) and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab(AR) and sister of Nahshon,(AS) and she bore him Nadab and Abihu,(AT) Eleazar(AU) and Ithamar.(AV)
24 The sons of Korah(AW) were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.
25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.(AX)
These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.
26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt(AY) by their divisions.”(AZ) 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh(BA) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.(BB)
Aaron to Speak for Moses
28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord.(BC) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,(BD) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
Footnotes
- Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Exodus 6:3 See note at 3:15.
- Exodus 6:12 Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30
- Exodus 6:14 The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.
The Voice (VOICE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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