Exodus 5 - 6 - Legacy Standard Bible

Exodus 5 - 6

Pharaoh Will Not Let the People Go

And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh that I should listen to His voice to let Israel go? I do not know Yahweh, and also, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God, lest He confront us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your hard labors!” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their hard labors!” 6 So on that day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying, 7 “You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall set upon them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, therefore they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let their slavery be hard on the men, and let them work at it so that they will have no regard for false words.” 10 So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I am not going to give you any straw. 11 You go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but no amount of your slave labor will be reduced.’” 12 So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 And the taskmasters were pressing them, saying, “Complete your work quota, the daily amount, just as when there was straw.” 14 Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not completed your required amount either yesterday or today in making brick as previously?” 15 Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your slaves? 16 There is no straw given to your slaves, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your slaves are being beaten; but it is the sin of your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are lazy—lazy! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to Yahweh.’ 18 So now, go and labor; but straw will not be given to you, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks.” 19 Then the foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble because they were told, “You must not reduce your daily amount of bricks.” 20 When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they confronted Moses and Aaron, standing there to meet them. 21 And they said to them, “May Yahweh look upon you and judge, for you have made us a foul smell in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.” 22 Then Moses returned to Yahweh and said, “O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all.”

Yahweh Remembers His Covenant

Then 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.” 2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am Yahweh; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Yahweh, I was not known to them. 4 And I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. 5 Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel because the Egyptians are holding them in slavery, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Say, 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. 7 Then 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. 8 And 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.’” 9 So 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. 10 Now Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “Come, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But 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?” 13 Then 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

14 These 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.

The 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.

These 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.

The sons of Gershon:

Libni and Shimei, according to their families.

The sons of Kohath:

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

The sons of Merari:

Mahli and Mushi.

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

And 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.

The sons of Izhar:

Korah and Nepheg and Zichri.

The sons of Uzziel:

Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri.

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

The sons of Korah:

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

25 And 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. 26 It 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.” 27 They 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

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