Exodus 7
1 The Lord told Moses, “Look, I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
And the Lord said to Moses, See I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet.
2 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.
Say whatever I give you orders to say: and Aaron your brother will give word to Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go out of his land.
3 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.
And I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, and my signs and wonders will be increased in the land of Egypt.
4 Then I will attack Egypt, imposing heavy punishments on them, and I will lead out by their tribes my people the Israelites.
But Pharaoh will not give ear to you, and I will put my hand on Egypt, and take my armies, my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt, after great punishments.
5 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.”
And the Egyptians will see that I am the Lord, when my hand is stretched out over Egypt, and I take the children of Israel out from among them.
6 Moses and Aaron did exactly as the Lord had ordered.
And Moses and Aaron did so: as the Lord gave them orders, so they did.
7 Moses was eighty and Aaron was eighty-three when they went and spoke to Pharaoh.
And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they gave the Lord's word to Pharaoh.
8 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
9 “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.”
If Pharaoh says to you, Let me see a wonder: then say to Aaron, Take your rod and put it down on the earth before Pharaoh so that it may become a snake.
10 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.
Then Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and they did as the Lord had said: and Aaron put his rod down on the earth before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a snake.
11 But Pharaoh called in wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic arts.
Then Pharaoh sent for the wise men and the wonder-workers, and they, the wonder-workers of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.
12 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.
For every one of them put down his rod on the earth, and they became snakes: but Aaron's rod made a meal of their rods.
13 But Pharaoh had a hard, stubborn attitude, and he wouldn't listen to them, as the Lord had predicted.
But Pharaoh's heart was made hard, and he did not give ear to them, as the Lord had said.
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh has a stubborn attitude—he's refusing to let the people go.
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh's heart is unchanged; he will not let the people go.
15 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.
Go to Pharaoh in the morning; when he goes out to the water, you will be waiting for him by the edge of the Nile, with the rod which was turned into a snake in your hand;
16 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.
And say to him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, Let my people go so that they may give me worship in the waste land; but up to now you have not given ear to his words.
17 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.
So the Lord says, By this you may be certain that I am the Lord; see, by the touch of this rod in my hand the waters of the Nile will be turned to blood;
18 The fish in the Nile will die, the river will smell, and the Egyptians won't be able to drink any of its water.”
And the fish in the Nile will come to destruction, and the river will send up a bad smell, and the Egyptians will not be able, for disgust, to make use of the water of the Nile for drinking.
19 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.’”
And the Lord said, Say to Aaron, Let the rod in your hand be stretched out over the waters of Egypt, and over the rivers and the streams and the pools, and over every stretch of water, so that they may be turned to blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.
20 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!
And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had said; and when his rod had been lifted up and stretched out over the waters of the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, all the water in the Nile was turned to blood;
21 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!
And the fish in the Nile came to destruction, and a bad smell went up from the river, and the Egyptians were not able to make use of the water of the Nile for drinking; and there was blood through all the land of Egypt.
22 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.
And the wonder-workers of Egypt did the same with their secret arts: but Pharaoh's heart was made hard, and he would not give ear to them, as the Lord had said.
23 Pharaoh went back to his palace and didn't pay any attention to what had happened.
Then Pharaoh went into his house, and did not take even this to heart.
24 All the Egyptians dug alongside the Nile because they couldn't drink its water.
And all the Egyptians made holes round about the Nile to get drinking-water, for they were not able to make use of the Nile water.
25 Seven days went by after the Lord hit the Nile.
And seven days went past, after the Lord had put his hand on the Nile.
