< Exodus 7 >
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen [carefully]. [Just like I enabled prophet to speak my messages], I will cause the king [to consider that] you are like a god, and that Aaron is like a prophet.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, I have made you a god to Pharao, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
2 You must tell everything I command you [to tell to your older] brother Aaron, and he will tell that to the king. He must tell the king to let the Israeli people leave his land.
And you shall say to him all things that I charge you, and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharao, that he should send forth the children of Israel out of his land.
3 But I will make the king stubborn [IDM]. As a result, even though I perform many kinds of (miracles/terrifying things) [DOU] [here] in Egypt,
And I will harden the heart of Pharao, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 the king will not pay any attention to what you say. Then I will punish [MTY] the people of Egypt [MTY] very severely [MTY], and I will lead/bring the tribes of the Israeli people out of Egypt.
And Pharao will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt; and will bring out my people the children of Israel with my power out of the land of Egypt with great vengeance.
5 Then, when I show my great power [MTY] to the Egyptian people and bring the Israeli people out from among them, they will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].”
And all the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, stretching out my hand upon Egypt, and I will bring out the children of Israel out of the midst of them.
6 Aaron and Moses/I did what Yahweh told them/us to do. They/We [went and spoke to the king].
And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they.
7 At that time, Moses/I was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83 years old.
And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron his brother was eighty-three years old, when he spoke to Pharao.
8 Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
9 “If the king says to you, ‘Prove [that God sent] you by performing a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Throw your stick down in front of the king, in order that it may become a snake.’”
Now if Pharao should speak to you, saying, Give us a sign or a wonder, then shall you say to your brother Aaron, Take your rod and cast it upon the ground before Pharao, and before his servants, and it shall become a serpent.
10 So Aaron and Moses/I went to the king and did what Yahweh had commanded [them/us to do]. Aaron threw his stick down in front of the king and his officials, and it became a snake.
And Moses and Aaron went in before Pharao, and [before] his servants, and they did so, as the Lord commanded them; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharao, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then the king summoned his sorcerers and men who performed magic. They did the same thing, using their magic.
But Pharao called together the wise men of Egypt, and the sorcerers, and the charmers also of the Egyptians did likewise with their sorceries.
12 They all threw down their sticks, and they became snakes. But Aaron’s stick, [which had become a snake], swallowed up all their sticks!
And they cast down each his rod, and they became serpents, but the rod of Aaron swallowed up their rods.
13 But the king continued to be stubborn [IDM], just as Yahweh had predicted, and he would not pay attention to [what Aaron and Moses/I said].
and the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he listened not to them, as the Lord charged them.
14 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “The king is very stubborn [IDM]. He refuses to allow [my] people to go.
and the Lord said to Moses, The heart of Pharao is made hard, so that he should not let the people go.
15 So [tomorrow] morning, go to him as he is going down to the [Nile] River [to bathe]. Wait for him at the riverbank. [When he comes out of the water, show] him the stick, the one which became a snake.
Go to Pharao early in the morning: behold, he goes forth to the water; and you shall meet him on the bank of the river, and you shall take in your hand the rod that was turned into a serpent.
16 Say to him, ‘Yahweh God, the one [we] Hebrews [worship], sent me to you to tell you to let my people go, in order that they may worship him in the desert. [We told you that], but you have not paid any attention to it.
And you shall say to him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, Send my people away, that they may serve me in the wilderness, and, behold, hitherto you have not listened.
17 [So now] Yahweh says this: “This is the way you will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do]. Watch this: I am going to strike the water that is in the Nile [River] with the stick that is in my hand. [When I do that], the water will become blood (OR, [red like] blood [MTY]).
These things says the Lord: Hereby shall you know that I am the Lord: behold, I strike with the rod that is in my hand on the water which is in the river, and it shall change it into blood.
18 Then the fish in the Nile [River] will die, and the [water in] the river will stink, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink water from the Nile River.”’”
And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall stink thereupon, and the Egyptians shall not be able to drink water from the river.
19 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “[When you are talking to the king], say to Aaron, ‘Hold your stick out [as though you were holding it] over the water in Egypt—over the rivers, the canals, the ponds, and over the pools of water, in order that [all of it] may become [red like] blood.’ When Aaron does that, there will be blood throughout Egypt, even in wooden jars and in stone jars.”
And the Lord said to Moses, Say to your brother Aaron, Take your rod in your hand, and stretch forth your hand over the waters of Egypt, and over their rivers, and over their canals, and over their ponds, and over all their standing water, and it shall become blood: and there was blood in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.
20 So Aaron and Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded. As the king and his officials were watching, Aaron lifted up his stick and then struck the water in the Nile [River] with it. And all the water in the river turned [red like] blood.
and Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded them; and [Aaron] having lifted up [his hand] with his rod, struck the water in the river before Pharao, and before his servants, and changed all the water in the river into blood.
21 Then all the fish died. And the water stank, with the result that the Egyptians could not drink water from the river. Everywhere in Egypt [the water] became [red like] blood.
And the fish in the river died, and the river stank thereupon; and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt.
22 But the men who performed magic did the same thing using their magic. So the king remained stubborn [IDM], and he would not pay attention to what Aaron and Moses/I said, just as Yahweh had predicted.
And the charmers also of the Egyptians did so with their sorceries; and the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he did not listen to them, even as the Lord said.
23 The king turned and went back to his palace, and he did not think any more about it [IDM].
And Pharao turned and entered into his house, nor did he fix his attention even on this thing.
24 The Egyptians [HYP] dug [into the ground] near the Nile [River] to get water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.
And all the Egyptians dug round about the river, so as to drink water, for they could not drink water from the river.
25 (One week/Seven days) passed after Yahweh caused the water in the Nile [River to become red like blood].
and seven days were fulfilled after the Lord has struck the river.