Exodus 6–7

Chapter 6

¹And Jehovah said to Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh; for by a strong hand shall he let them go, and by a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. ²And God spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am Jehovah. ³And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as the Almighty •God; but by my name Jehovah I was not made known to them. ⁴And I established also my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were sojourners. ⁵And I have heard also the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians have forced to serve, and I have remembered my covenant. ⁶Therefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their service, and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments. ⁷And I will take you to me for a people, and will be your God; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah your God, am he who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸And I will bring you into the land concerning which I swore to give it unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; and I will give it you for a possession: I am Jehovah. ⁹And Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not listen to Moses from anguish of spirit, and from hard service.

¹⁰And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. ¹²And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Lo, the children of Israel do not hearken to me: how then should Pharaoh hearken to me, to me of uncircumcised lips? ¹³And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a commandment to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁴These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Enoch and Phallu, Hezron and Carmi: these are the families of Reuben. ¹⁵—And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Saul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon. ¹⁶And these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven years. ¹⁷The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families. ¹⁸And the sons of Kohath: Amram, and Jizhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred and thirty-three years. ¹⁹And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations. ²⁰And Amram took Jochebed his aunt as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years. ²¹And the sons of Jizhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zicri. ²²And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri. ²³And Aaron took Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ²⁴And the sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korahites. ²⁵And Eleazar Aaron’s son took one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families. ²⁶This is that Aaron and Moses, to whom Jehovah said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts. ²⁷These are they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: this is that Moses and Aaron. ²⁸And it came to pass on the day when Jehovah spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹that Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, I am Jehovah: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee. ³⁰And Moses said before Jehovah, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how will Pharaoh hearken unto me?

Chapter 7

¹And Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made thee God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. ²Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. ³And I will render Pharaoh’s heart obdurate, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴And Pharaoh will not hearken unto you; and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. ⁵And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I stretch forth my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. ⁶And Moses and Aaron did as Jehovah had commanded them: so did they. ⁷And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ⁹When Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying, Do a miracle for yourselves, —then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy staff and cast it before Pharaoh—it will become a serpent. ¹⁰And Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh, and before his bondmen, and it became a serpent. ¹¹And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments: ¹²they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staves. ¹³And Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said.

¹⁴And Jehovah said to Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened: he refuseth to let the people go. ¹⁵Go unto Pharaoh in the morning—behold, he will go out unto the water—and take thy stand by the bank of the river in front of him; and take in thy hand the staff that was turned into a serpent. ¹⁶And say unto him, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews has sent me to thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; but behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened. ¹⁷Thus saith Jehovah: In this shalt thou know that I am Jehovah—behold, I will smite with the staff that is in my hand upon the water which is in the river, and it shall be turned into blood. ¹⁸And the fish that is in the river shall die; and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water out of the river. ¹⁹And Jehovah said to Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy staff, and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of the Egyptians—upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone. ²⁰And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and he lifted up the staff, and smote the waters that were in the river before the eyes of Pharaoh, and before the eyes of his bondmen; and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood. ²¹And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river; and the blood was throughout the land of Egypt. ²²And the scribes of Egypt did so with their sorceries; and Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn, neither did he hearken to them, as Jehovah had said. ²³And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and took not this to heart either. ²⁴And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. ²⁵And seven days were fulfilled, after Jehovah had smitten the river.