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.
Adonai said to Moses [Drawn out], “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron [Light-bringer] your brother shall 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.
You shall speak all that I enjoin you; and Aaron [Light-bringer] your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel [God prevails] 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.
I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt [Abode of slavery].
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 sh'ma ·hear obey· you, and I will lay my hand on Egypt [Abode of slavery], and bring out my armies, my people the children of Israel [God prevails], out of the land of Egypt [Abode of slavery] by great judgments.
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.”
The Egyptians [people from Abode of slavery] shall know that I am Adonai, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt [Abode of slavery], and bring out the children of Israel [God prevails] from among them.”
6 Moses and Aaron did exactly as the Lord had ordered.
Moses [Drawn out] and Aaron [Light-bringer] did so. As Adonai enjoined them, so they did.
7 Moses was eighty and Aaron was eighty-three when they went and spoke to Pharaoh.
Moses [Drawn out] was eighty years old, and Aaron [Light-bringer] eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,
Adonai spoke to Moses [Drawn out] and to Aaron [Light-bringer], saying,
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.”
“When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Perform a miracle!’ then you shall tell Aaron [Light-bringer], ‘Take your rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a serpent.’”
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.
Moses [Drawn out] and Aaron [Light-bringer] went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Adonai had enjoined: and Aaron [Light-bringer] cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 But Pharaoh called in wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic arts.
Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt [Abode of slavery], did the same thing with their enchantments.
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 they each cast down their rods, and they became serpents: but Aaron [Light-bringer]’s rod swallowed up their rods.
13 But Pharaoh had a hard, stubborn attitude, and he wouldn't listen to them, as the Lord had predicted.
Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t sh'ma ·hear obey· them; as Adonai had spoken.
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh has a stubborn attitude—he's refusing to let the people go.
Adonai said to Moses [Drawn out], “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn. He refuses to 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. Behold, he goes out to the water; and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take 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.
You shall tell him, ‘Adonai, the God of the Hebrews [Immigrants], has sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may abad ·serve· me in the wilderness:” and behold, until now you haven’t sh'ma ·heard obeyed·.
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.
Adonai says, “In this you shall know that I am Adonai. Behold, I will strike with the rod that is in my hand on the waters which are in the river, and they shall 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.”
The fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul; and the Egyptians [people from Abode of slavery] shall loathe to drink water from the river.”’”
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.’”
Adonai said to Moses [Drawn out], “Tell Aaron [Light-bringer], ‘Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt [Abode of slavery], over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt [Abode of slavery], both in wood buckets and in stone jars.’”
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!
Moses [Drawn out] and Aaron [Light-bringer] did so, as Adonai enjoined; and he lifted up the rod, and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were 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!
The fish that were in the river died; and the river became foul, and the Egyptians [people from Abode of slavery] couldn’t drink water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt [Abode of slavery].
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.
The magicians of Egypt [Abode of slavery] did the same thing with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t sh'ma ·hear obey· them; as Adonai had spoken.
23 Pharaoh went back to his palace and didn't pay any attention to what had happened.
Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he didn’t even take this to heart.
24 All the Egyptians dug alongside the Nile because they couldn't drink its water.
All the Egyptians [people from Abode of slavery] dug around the river for water to drink; for they couldn’t drink the river water.
25 Seven days went by after the Lord hit the Nile.
Seven days were fulfilled, after Adonai had struck the river.
