¹⁶ Give Pharaoh My message: “The Eternal One, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you: ‘Release My people, so that they may serve Me in the desert. You have not paid any attention until now. ¹⁷ You will know that I am the Eternal by the next miracle I am going to perform. I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff that is in my hand, and the water will be turned into blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile will die, and this river will be fouled with the rotting mess so that the Egyptians will no longer be able to drink from it.’”