Exodus 6

God Renews the Covenant

1Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: a mighty hand will force him to let them go; a mighty hand will drive them out of his land.” 2God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am Yahweh. 3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name Yahweh I did not make myself known to them. 4I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners. 5Now I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. 6Therefore say to the Israelites: I am Yahweh. I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt, I will free you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God, and you will know that I am Yahweh your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of Egypt. 8I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession — I am Yahweh.” 9Moses told this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to him, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery. 10Then Yahweh said to Moses, 11“Go and tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the Israelites go out of his land.” 12But Moses said before Yahweh, “The Israelites have not listened to me — how then will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am a man of faltering speech?” 13So Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron and charged them concerning the Israelites and concerning Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

14These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel — Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben. 15The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon. 16These were the names of the sons of Levi, by their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. 17The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans. 18The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived a hundred and thirty-three years. 19The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi, by their generations. 20Amram married Jochebed, his father’s sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. 21The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the clans of the Korahites. 25Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families, by their clans. 26It was this Aaron and this Moses to whom Yahweh said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, company by company.” 27It was they who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of Egypt — this Moses and this Aaron.

Sent Again to Pharaoh

28On the day Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29he said to Moses, “I am Yahweh. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything I say to you.” 30But Moses said before Yahweh, “I am a man of faltering speech — how will Pharaoh listen to me?”