6:2 God spoke 1 to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. 2
3:6 “Since, I, the Lord, do not go back on my promises, 10 you, sons of Jacob, have not perished.
1 tn Heb “And God spoke.”
2 sn The announcement “I am the
3 sn The verb וְהוֹצֵאתִי (vÿhotse’ti) is a perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, and so it receives a future translation – part of God’s promises. The word will be used later to begin the Decalogue and other covenant passages – “I am Yahweh who brought you out….”
4 tn Heb “from under the burdens of” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “from under the yoke of.”
5 tn Heb “from labor of them.” The antecedent of the pronoun is the Egyptians who have imposed slave labor on the Hebrews.
6 tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses saying.” This has been simplified in the translation as “he said to him” for stylistic reasons.
7 tn The verb is דַּבֵּר (dabber), the Piel imperative. It would normally be translated “speak,” but in English that verb does not sound as natural with a direct object as “tell.”
8 tn The clause begins with אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר (’et kol-’asher) indicating that this is a noun clause functioning as the direct object of the imperative and providing the content of the commanded speech.
9 tn דֹּבֵר (dover) is the Qal active participle; it functions here as the predicate in the noun clause: “that I [am] telling you.” This one could be rendered, “that I am speaking to you.”
10 tn Heb “do not change.” This refers to God’s ongoing commitment to his covenant promises to Israel.