1 Then theLordsaid to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. Forwith a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong handhe will drive them out of his land.”
2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “IamtheLord.
3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, asGod Almighty, butbyMy nameLordI was not known to them.
4 I have also established My covenant with them,to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage,in which they were strangers.
5 AndI have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.
6 Therefore say to the children of Israel:‘IamtheLord;I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I willrescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
7 I willtake you as My people, andI will be your God. Then you shall know that IamtheLordyour God who brings you outfrom under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 And I will bring you into the land which Iswore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to youasa heritage: IamtheLord.’ ”
9 So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel;but they did not heed Moses, because ofanguish of spirit and cruel bondage.
10 And theLordspoke to Moses, saying,
11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”
12 And Moses spoke before theLord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, forIamof uncircumcised lips?”
13 Then theLordspoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them acommand for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
The Family of Moses and Aaron
14 Thesearethe heads of their fathers’ houses:The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel,wereHanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben.
15 And the sons of SimeonwereJemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. Thesearethe families of Simeon.
16 Thesearethe names ofthe sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Leviwereone hundred and thirty-seven.
17 The sons of GershonwereLibni and Shimi according to their families.
18 Andthe sons of KohathwereAmram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohathwereone hundred and thirty-three.
19 The sons of MerariwereMahli and Mushi. Thesearethe families of Levi according to their generations.
20 NowAmram took for himselfJochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore himAaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amramwereone hundred and thirty-seven.
21 The sons of IzharwereKorah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 Andthe sons of UzzielwereMishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri.
23 Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter ofAmminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore himNadab, Abihu,Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24 Andthe sons of KorahwereAssir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites.
25 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; andshe bore him Phinehas. Thesearethe heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.
26 ThesearethesameAaron and Moses to whom theLordsaid, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to theirarmies.”
27 Thesearethe ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt,to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. ThesearethesameMoses and Aaron.
Aaron Is Moses’s Spokesman
28 And it came to pass, on the day theLordspoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29 that theLordspoke to Moses, saying, “IamtheLord.Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”
30 But Moses said before theLord, “Behold,Iamof uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?”