Yahweh Remembers His Covenant

1Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for by a strong hand he will let them go, and by a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

2God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am Yahweh; 3and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as [†]God Almighty, but by My name, Yahweh, I was not known to them. 4And I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the [†]land in which they sojourned. 5Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel because the Egyptians are holding them in slavery, and I have remembered My covenant. 6Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the hard labors of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their slavery. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7Then I will take you [†]for My people, and I will be [†]your God; and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from under the hard labors of the Egyptians. 8And I will bring you to the land which I [†]swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am Yahweh.’” 9So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their weakness of spirit and [†]hard slavery.

10Now Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11“Come, [†]tell Pharaoh king of Egypt [†]to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 12But Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” 13Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command for the sons of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Heads of Israel’s Households

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.

15The sons of Simeon:

Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.

16These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations:

Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the years of Levi’s life were 137 years.

17The sons of Gershon:

[†]Libni and Shimei, according to their families.

18The sons of Kohath:

Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel; and the years of Kohath’s life were 133 years.

19The sons of Merari:

Mahli and Mushi.

These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.

20And Amram took his father’s sister Jochebed as a wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the years of Amram’s life were 137 years.

21The sons of Izhar:

Korah and Nepheg and Zichri.

22The sons of Uzziel:

Mishael and [†]Elzaphan and Sithri.

23And Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as a wife, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

24The sons of Korah:

Assir and Elkanah and [†]Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.

25And Aaron’s son Eleazar took one of the daughters of Putiel as a wife, 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 Yahweh said, “Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.” 27They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.

Aaron Will Speak for Moses

28Now it happened on the day when Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29that Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “I am Yahweh; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I am speaking to you.” 30But Moses said before Yahweh, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”