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And Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made thee God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

And I will render Pharaoh's heart obdurate, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

And Pharaoh will not hearken unto you; and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I stretch forth my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.

And Moses and Aaron did as Jehovah had commanded them: so did they.

And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

When Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying, Do a miracle for yourselves,—then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy staff and cast [it] before Pharaoh—it will become a serpent.

10 And Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh, and before his bondmen, and it became a serpent.

11 And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments:

12 they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staves.

13 And Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said.

14 And Jehovah said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened: he refuseth to let the people go.

15 Go unto Pharaoh in the morning—behold, he will go out unto the water—and take thy stand by the bank of the river in front of him; and take in thy hand the staff that was turned into a serpent.

16 And say unto him, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews has sent me to thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; but behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened.

17 Thus saith Jehovah: In this shalt thou know that I am Jehovah—behold, I will smite with the staff that is in my hand upon the water which is in the river, and it shall be turned into blood.

18 And the fish that is in the river shall die; and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water out of the river.

19 And Jehovah said to Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy staff, and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of the Egyptians—upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, both in [vessels of] wood and in [vessels of] stone.

20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and he lifted up the staff, and smote the waters that were in the river before the eyes of Pharaoh, and before the eyes of his bondmen; and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood.

21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river; and the blood was throughout the land of Egypt.

22 And the scribes of Egypt did so with their sorceries; and Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, neither did he hearken to them, as Jehovah had said.

23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and took not this to heart either.

24 And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

25 And seven days were fulfilled, after Jehovah had smitten the river.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God(A) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.(B) You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,(C) and though I multiply my signs and wonders(D) in Egypt, he will not listen(E) to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment(F) I will bring out my divisions,(G) my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord(H) when I stretch out my hand(I) against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded(J) them. Moses was eighty years old(K) and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,(L)’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”(M)

10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers,(N) and the Egyptian magicians(O) also did the same things by their secret arts:(P) 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart(Q) became hard and he would not listen(R) to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;(S) he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.(T) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,(U) and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship(V) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.(W) 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:(X) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.(Y) 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;(Z) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”(AA)

19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff(AB) and stretch out your hand(AC) over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels[a] of wood and stone.”

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.(AD) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,(AE) and all the water was changed into blood.(AF) 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

22 But the Egyptian magicians(AG) did the same things by their secret arts,(AH) and Pharaoh’s heart(AI) became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water(AJ), because they could not drink the water of the river.

The Plague of Frogs

25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 7:19 Or even on their idols