< Exodus 7 >

1 And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I have appointed thee the God of Pharao: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
The Lord told Moses, “Look, I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
2 Thou shalt speak to him all that I command thee; and he shall speak to Pharao, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
You are to repeat everything that I tell you to say, and your brother Aaron must repeat it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites leave his country.
3 But I shall harden his heart, and shall multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
But I will give Pharaoh a stubborn attitude, and though I will perform many signs and wonders in Egypt, he won't listen to you.
4 And he will not hear you: and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and will bring forth my army and my people the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, by very great judgments.
Then I will attack Egypt, imposing heavy punishments on them, and I will lead out by their tribes my people the Israelites.
5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, who have stretched forth my hand upon Egypt, and have brought forth the children of Israel out of the midst of them.
In this way the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord—when I take action against Egypt and lead the Israelites out of the country.”
6 And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded: so did they.
Moses and Aaron did exactly as the Lord had ordered.
7 And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharao.
Moses was eighty and Aaron was eighty-three when they went and spoke to Pharaoh.
8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
The Lord told Moses and Aaron,
9 When Pharao shall say to you, Shew signs: thou shalt say to Aaron: Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharao, and it shall be turned into a serpent.
“When Pharaoh asks you, ‘Why don't you perform a miracle, then?’ tell Aaron, ‘Take your walking stick and throw it down in front of Pharaoh,’ and it will turn into a snake.”
10 So Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharao, and did as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron took the rod before Pharao, and his servants, and it was turned into a serpent.
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had ordered. Aaron threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it turned into a snake.
11 And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians: and they also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets did in like manner.
But Pharaoh called in wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic arts.
12 And they every one cast down their rods, and they were turned into serpents: but Aaron’s rod devoured their rods.
Each of them threw down their walking sticks and they also turned into snakes, but Aaron's walking stick swallowed up all their walking sticks.
13 And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord had commanded.
But Pharaoh had a hard, stubborn attitude, and he wouldn't listen to them, as the Lord had predicted.
14 And the Lord said to Moses: Pharao’s heart is hardened, he will not let the people go.
The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh has a stubborn attitude—he's refusing to let the people go.
15 Go to him in the morning, behold he will go out to the waters: and thou shalt stand to meet him on the bank of the river: and thou shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned into a serpent.
So tomorrow morning go to Pharaoh as he walks down to the river. Wait to meet him on the bank of the Nile. Take with you the walking stick that turned into a snake.
16 And thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to thee saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in the desert: and hitherto thou wouldst not hear.
Tell him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you, ‘Let my people go, so that they can worship me in the desert. But you have not listened up until now.
17 Thus therefore saith the Lord: In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold I will strike with the rods that is in my hand, the water of the river, and it shall be turned into blood.
This is what the Lord is now telling you: This is how you will know that I am the Lord.’” “Watch! Using the walking stick I'm holding, I'm going to hit the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.
18 And the fishes that are in the river shall die, and the waters shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted when they drink the water of the river.
The fish in the Nile will die, the river will smell, and the Egyptians won't be able to drink any of its water.”
19 The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers, and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your walking stick in your hand and hold it out over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers and canals and ponds and pools, so that they will turn to blood. There will be blood through all of Egypt, even in containers made of wood and stone.’”
20 And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded: and lifting up the rod he struck the water of the river before Pharao and his servants: and it was turned into blood.
Moses and Aaron did exactly as the Lord had ordered. While Pharaoh and all his officials watched, Aaron lifted up his walking stick and hit the water of the Nile. Immediately the whole river turned to blood!
21 And the fishes that were in the river died: and the river corrupted, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river, and there was blood in all the land of Egypt.
The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so awful that the Egyptians could not drink its water. There was blood through all of Egypt!
22 And the magicians of the Egyptians with their enchantments did in like manner: and Pharao’s heart was hardened, neither did he hear them, as the Lord had commanded.
But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic arts. Pharaoh maintained his stubborn attitude and he wouldn't listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.
23 And he turned himself away and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to it this time also.
Pharaoh went back to his palace and didn't pay any attention to what had happened.
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.
All the Egyptians dug alongside the Nile because they couldn't drink its water.
25 And seven days were fully ended, after that the Lord struck the river.
Seven days went by after the Lord hit the Nile.

< Exodus 7 >