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God Promises Deliverance

¹ But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let them go; because of My strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”² God also told Moses, “I am the LORD.³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty^(a), but I did not reveal Myself to them by My name, ‘the LORD.’⁴ I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners.⁵ Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant.⁶ Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.⁷ I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.⁸ And I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD!’”⁹ Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.

¹⁰ So the LORD said to Moses,¹¹ “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.”¹² But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech^(a)?”¹³ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Genealogies of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴ These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.¹⁵ The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.¹⁶ These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.¹⁷ The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, by their clans.¹⁸ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.¹⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites according to their records.²⁰ And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.²¹ The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.²² The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.²³ And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon. She bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.²⁴ The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the clans of the Korahites.²⁵ Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families by their clans.²⁶ It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.”²⁷ Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.²⁸ Now on the day that the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt,²⁹ He said to him, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything that I say to you.”³⁰ But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “Since I am unskilled in speech, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”