God renews his promise. The genealogies of Ruben, Simon and Levi, down to Moses and Aaron.

¹ And the Lord said to Moses: “Now you will see what I shall do to Pharaoh. For through a strong hand he will release them, and by a mighty hand he will cast them from his land.”

² And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “I am the Lord,

³ who appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as Almighty God. And I did not reveal to them my name: ADONAI.¹

1. 6:3My name Adonai: The name, which is in the Hebrew text, is that most proper name of God, which signifies his eternal, self-existent being, Ex. 3.14, which the Jews out of reverence never pronounce; but, instead of it, whenever it occurs in the Bible, they read Adonai, which signifies the Lord; and, therefore, they put the points or vowels, which belong to the name Adonai, to the four letters of that other ineffable name Jod, He, Vau, He. Hence some moderns have framed the name Jehovah, unknown to all the ancients, whether Jews or Christians; for the true pronunciation of the name, which is in the Hebrew text, by long disuse, is now quite lost.(Challoner)

⁴ And I formed a covenant with them, in order to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojourning, in which they were newcomers.

⁵ I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, with which the Egyptians have oppressed them. And I have remembered my covenant.

⁶ For this reason, say to the sons of Israel: I am the Lord who will lead you away from the work house of the Egyptians, and rescue you from servitude, and also redeem you with an exalted arm and great judgments.

⁷ And I will take you to myself as my people, and I will be your God. And you will know that I am the Lord your God, who led you away from the work house of the Egyptians,

⁸ and who brought you into the land, over which I lifted up my hand in order to grant it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I will grant it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.”

⁹ And so, Moses explained all these things to the sons of Israel, who did not agree with him, because of their anguish of spirit and very difficult work.

¹⁰ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

¹¹ “Enter and speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so that he may release the sons of Israel from his land.”

¹² Moses responded in the sight the Lord: “Behold, the sons of Israel do not listen to me. And how will Pharaoh listen to me, especially since I am of uncircumcised lips?”¹

1. 6:12Uncircumcised lips: So he calls the defect he had in his words, or utterance.(Challoner)

¹³ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and he gave them a commandment for the sons of Israel, and for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, that they should lead the sons of Israel away from the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ These are the leaders of the houses by their families. The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.

¹⁵ These are the kindred of Reuben. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite women. These are the progeny of Simeon.

¹⁶ And these are the names of the sons of Levi by their kindred: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. Now the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven.

¹⁷ The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their kindred.

¹⁸ The sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron and Uzziel. Likewise, the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three.

¹⁹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the kindred of Levi by their families.

²⁰ Now Amram took as a wife Jochebed, his paternal aunt, who bore for him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.

²¹ Likewise, the sons of Izhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.

²² Likewise, the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri.

²³ Now Aaron took as a wife Elizabeth, the daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, who bore for him Nadab, and Abihu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.

²⁴ Likewise, the sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the kindred of the Korahites.

²⁵ And truly Eleazar, the son of Aaron, took a wife from the daughters of Putiel. And she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the Levitical families by their kindred.

²⁶ These are Aaron and Moses, whom the Lord instructed to lead the sons of Israel away from the land of Egypt by their companies.

²⁷ These are those who speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, in order to lead the sons of Israel out of Egypt. These are Moses and Aaron,

²⁸ in the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt.

²⁹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “I am the Lord. Speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I speak to you.”

³⁰ And Moses said in the sight of the Lord: “Lo, I am of uncircumcised lips, how will Pharaoh listen to me?”