Israel

Moshe said to God, "Look, when I appear before the people of Isra'el and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?"

God said to Moshe, "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be]," and added, "Here is what to say to the people of Isra'el: 'Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.'"

God said further to Moshe, "Say this to the people of Isra'el: 'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov, has sent me to you.'This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.

Go, gather the leaders of Isra'el together, and say to them, 'ADONAI, the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov, has appeared to me and said, "I have been paying close attention to you and have seen what is being done to you in Egypt;

They will heed what you say. Then you will come, you and the leaders of Isra'el, before the king of Egypt; and you will tell him, 'ADONAI, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now, please, let us go three days' journey into the desert; so that we can sacrifice to ADONAI our God.'

"This is so that they will believe that ADONAI, the God of their fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya'akov, has appeared to you!"

Then you are to tell Pharaoh: 'ADONAI says, "Isra'el is my firstborn son.

Then Moshe and Aharon went and gathered together all the leaders of the people of Isra'el.

The people believed; when they heard that ADONAI had remembered the people of Isra'el and seen how they were oppressed, they bowed their heads and worshipped.

After that, Moshe and Aharon came and said to Pharaoh, "Here is what ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, says: 'Let my people go, so that they can celebrate a festival in the desert to honor me.'"

But Pharaoh replied, "Who is ADONAI, that I should obey when he says to let Isra'el go? I don't know ADONAI, and I also won't let Isra'el go."

The foremen of the people of Isra'el, whom Pharaoh's slavemasters had appointed to be over them, were flogged and asked, "Why haven't you fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday and today, as you did formerly?"

Then the foremen of the people of Isra'el came and complained to Pharaoh: "Why are you treating your servants this way?

When they said, "You are not to reduce your daily production quota of bricks," the foremen of the people of Isra'el could see that they were in deep trouble.

I appeared to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself known to them by my name, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI].

Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Isra'el, whom the Egyptians are keeping in slavery; and I have remembered my covenant.

"Therefore, say to the people of Isra'el: 'I am ADONAI. I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians, rescue you from their oppression, and redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov - I will give it to you as your inheritance. I am ADONAI.'"

Moshe said this to the people of Isra'el. But they wouldn't listen to him, because they were so discouraged, and their slavery was so cruel.

"Go in; and tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Isra'el leave his land."

Moshe said to ADONAI, "Look, the people of Isra'el haven't listened to me; so how will Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?"

But ADONAI spoke to Moshe and Aharon and gave them orders concerning both the people of Isra'el and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the people of Isra'el out of the land of Egypt.

These were the heads of their families: the sons of Re'uven the firstborn of Isra'el were Hanokh, Pallu, Hetzron and Karmi. These were the families of Re'uven.

These are the Aharon and Moshe to whom ADONAI said, "Bring the people of Isra'el out of the land of Egypt, division by division,"

and who told Pharaoh king of Egypt, to let the people of Isra'el leave Egypt. These are the same Moshe and Aharon.