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God Promises Action

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for ^(F1)(C1)under compulsion he will not only let them go, but under compulsion he will drive them out of his land."

² Then God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am ^(C1)the LORD. ^(VR1)3 "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Israel) as ^(C1)God Almighty El Shaddai, but by ^(C2)My ^(F1)name, ^(F2)LORD, I did not make Myself known to them in acts and great miracles. ^(VR1)4 "I also established ^(C1)My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as strangers (temporary residents, foreigners). ^(VR1)5 "And I have also ^(C1)heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have faithfully remembered My covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.⁶ "Therefore, say to the children of Israel, '^(C1)I am the LORD, and ^(C2)I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their bondage. I will ^(C3)redeem and rescue you with ^(C4)an outstretched (vigorous, powerful) arm and with great acts of judgment against Egypt.⁷ 'Then I will take you ^(C1)for My people, and ^(C2)I will be your God; and ^(C3)you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who redeemed you and brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.⁸ 'I will bring you to the land which I ^(F1)(C1)swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel); and ^(C2)I will give it to you as a possession. ^(C3)I am the LORD you have the promise of My changeless omnipotence and faithfulness.'"⁹ Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him ^(C1)because of their ^(F1)impatience and despondency, and because of their forced labor.

¹⁰ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,¹¹ "^(C1)Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land."¹² But Moses said to the LORD, "Look, my own people the Israelites have not listened to me; so ^(C1)how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am ^(F1)(C2)unskilled and inept in speech?"¹³ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command concerning the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

The Heads of Israel

¹⁴ These are the heads of their fathers' households. ^(C1)The sons of Reuben, Israel's (Jacob's) firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.¹⁵ The ^(C1)sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.¹⁶ These are the names of ^(C1)the sons of Levi according to their births: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and Levi lived a hundred and thirty-seven years.^17 (C1)The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their families.^18 (C1)The sons of Kohath: Amram (Moses' father), Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and Kohath lived a hundred and thirty-three years.^19 (C1)The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.^20 (C1)Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, and she gave birth to Aaron and Moses; and Amram lived a hundred and thirty-seven years.^21 (C1)The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.^22 (C1)The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.²³ Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of ^(C1)Amminadab and the sister of ^(C2)Nahshon, and she gave birth to ^(C3)Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.²⁴ The ^(C1)sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the extended families of the Korahites.^25 (C1)Eleazar, Aaron's son, married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she gave birth to ^(C2)Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' households of the Levites by their families.²⁶ These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, "^(C1)Bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their ^(F1)(C2)armies."²⁷ They were the ones ^(C1)who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt; these are the same Moses and Aaron.

²⁸ Now it happened on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,²⁹ that He said, "^(C1)I am the LORD; ^(C2)tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything that I say to you."³⁰ But Moses said before the LORD, "Look, I am ^(F1)(C1)unskilled and inept in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me and pay attention to what I say?"