God Promises Action

1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for [a]under compulsion he will let them go, and [b]under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”

2God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD; 3and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as [c]God Almighty, but by My name, [d]LORD, I did not make Myself known to them. 4I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the [e]land in which they lived as strangers. 5Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. 7Then I will take you [f]as My people, and I will be [g]your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians. 8I will bring you to the land which I [h]swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession; I am the LORD.’” 9So Moses said this to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their [i]despondency and cruel bondage.

10Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 11“Go, [j]tell Pharaoh king of Egypt [k]to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 12But Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, as I am [l]unskilled in speech?” 13Nevertheless, the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command concerning the sons of Israel and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Heads of Israel

14These are the heads of their fathers’ households. The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben. 15And the sons of Simeon: [m]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. 16And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and the [n]length of Levi’s life was 137 years. 17The sons of Gershon: [o]Libni and Shimei, according to their families. 18And the sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and the [p]length of Kohath’s life was 133 years. 19And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. 20Now Amram [q]married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the [r]length of Amram’s life was 137 years. 21And the sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, [s]Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23Aaron [t]married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24And the sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and [u]Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. 25Now Aaron’s son Eleazar [v]married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families. 26It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their [w]multitudes.” 27They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt [x]about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.

28Now it came about on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29that the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the LORD; say to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30But Moses said before the LORD, “Behold, I am [y]unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”

[a] 1 Lit by a strong hand
[b] 1 Lit by a strong hand
[c] 3 Heb El Shaddai
[d] 3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered LORD
[e] 4 Lit land of their sojournings in which...
[f] 7 Lit to Me for a people
[g] 7 Lit to you for a God
[h] 8 Lit lifted up My hand
[i] 9 Or impatience
[j] 11 Lit speak to
[k] 11 Lit that he let
[l] 12 Lit uncircumcised of lips
[m] 15 In Num 26:12 and 1 Chr 4:24, Nemuel
[n] 16 Lit years
[o] 17 In 1 Chr 23:7, Ladan
[p] 18 Lit years
[q] 20 Lit took to him as a wife
[r] 20 Lit years
[s] 22 In Num 3:30, Elizaphan
[t] 23 Lit took to him as a wife
[u] 24 In 1 Chr 6:23 and 9:19, Ebiasaph
[v] 25 Lit took to him as a wife
[w] 26 I.e., multitudes in battle formation
[x] 27 Lit to bring out
[y] 30 Lit uncircumcised of lips