Exodus 7:2

7:2 You are to speak ¹  everything I command you, ²  and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh that he must release ³  the Israelites from his land.

Exodus 12:21

12:21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel, and told them, “Go and select ⁴  for yourselves a lamb or young goat ⁵  for your families, and kill the Passover animals. ⁶ 

[7:2]  ¹ tn The imperfect tense here should have the nuance of instruction or injunction: “you are to speak.” The subject is singular (Moses) and made emphatic by the presence of the personal pronoun “you.”

[7:2]  ² tn The phrase translated “everything I command you” is a noun clause serving as the direct object of the verb “speak.” The verb in the clause (אֲצַוֶּךָ, ’atsavvekha) is the Piel imperfect. It could be classified as a future: “everything that I will command you.” A nuance of progressive imperfect also fits well: “everything that I am commanding you.”

[7:2]  ³ tn The form is וְשִׁלַּח (vÿshillakh), a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. Following the imperfects of injunction or instruction, this verb continues the sequence. It could be taken as equal to an imperfect expressing future (“and he will release”) or subordinate to express purpose (“to release” = “in order that he may release”).

[12:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “draw out and take.” The verb has in view the need “to draw out” a lamb or goat selected from among the rest of the flock.

[12:21]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew noun is singular and can refer to either a lamb or a goat. Since English has no common word for both, the phrase “a lamb or young goat” is used in the translation.

[12:21]  ⁶ tn The word “animals” is added to avoid giving the impression in English that the Passover festival itself is the object of “kill.”