Exodus 7
1 The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
Yahweh said to Moses, “See, I have made you like a god to Pharaoh. Aaron your brother will be your prophet.
2 You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.
You will say everything that I command you to say. Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh so that he will let the people of Israel go from his land.
3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and I will display many signs of my power, many wonders, in the land of Egypt.
4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
But Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will put my hand on Egypt and bring out my groups of fighting men, my people, the descendants of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of punishment.
5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”
The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I reach out with my hand on Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them.”
6 So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.
Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as Yahweh commanded them.
7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron,
9 “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.”
“When Pharaoh says to you, 'Do a miracle,' then you will say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may become a snake.'”
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.
Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and they did just as Yahweh had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a snake.
11 But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.
Then Pharaoh also called for his wise men and sorcerers. They did the same thing by their magic.
12 Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.
Each man threw down his staff, and the staffs became snakes. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their snakes.
13 Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen, just as Yahweh had foretold.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hard, and he refuses to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.
Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water. Stand on the riverbank to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that had turned into a snake.
16 Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But you have not listened until now.
Say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say, “Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. Until now you have not listened.”
17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.
Yahweh says this: “By this you will know that I am Yahweh. I am going to strike the water of the Nile River with the staff that is in my hand, and the river will be turned to blood.
18 The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”
The fish that are in the river will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink water from the river.”'”
19 And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and reach out with your hand over the waters of Egypt, and over their rivers, streams, pools, and all their ponds, so that their water may become blood. Do this so that there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in containers of wood and stone.'”
20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood.
Moses and Aaron did as Yahweh commanded. Aaron raised the staff and struck the water in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants. All the water in the river turned to blood.
21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
The fish in the river died, and the river began to stink. The Egyptians could not drink water from the river, and the blood was everywhere in the land of Egypt.
22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their magic. So Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as Yahweh had said would happen.
23 Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.
Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not even pay attention to this.
24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.
All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink, but they could not drink the water of the river itself.
25 And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.
Seven days passed after Yahweh had attacked the river.
