< Exodus 7 >

1 The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
2 You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
Thou shalt speak all that I shall command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send away the children of Israel out of his land.
3 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and I will multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 But Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring out my armies, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
And Pharaoh will not hearken unto you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my armies, my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by means of great judgments.
5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and bring the children of Israel out from among them.”
And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth my hand over Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from the midst of them.
6 Moses and Aaron did so. As the LORD commanded them, so they did.
And Moses and Aaron did so; as the Lord commanded them, so did they.
7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty and three years old, when they spoke unto Pharaoh.
8 The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Perform a miracle!’ then you shall tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’”
If Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for yourselves: then shalt thou say unto Aaron, Take thy staff and cast it down before Pharaoh; it shall become a serpent.
10 Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as the LORD had commanded. Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so, as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments.
Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did with their secret arts in like manner.
12 For they each cast down their rods, and they became serpents; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
And they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staves.
13 Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken.
But the heart of Pharaoh was hard, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken.
14 The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.
And the Lord said unto Moses, The heart of Pharaoh is obdurate, he refuseth to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he is going out to the water. You shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him. You shall take the rod which was turned to a serpent in your hand.
Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt place thyself opposite to him by the brink of the river; and the staff which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thy hand.
16 You shall tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. Behold, until now you haven’t listened.”
And thou shalt say unto him, The Eternal, the God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, thou wouldst not hear, up to this time.
17 The LORD says, “In this you shall know that I am the LORD. 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.
Thus hath said the Lord, By this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the staff that is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18 The fish that are in the river will die and the river will become foul. The Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the river.”’”
And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loath to drink water from the river.
19 The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood. There will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy staff, and stretch out thy hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, and over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, also in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
20 Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; 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.
And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord had commanded; and he lifted up [his hand] with the staff, and smote the waters that were in the river, before the eyes of Pharaoh, and before the eyes of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21 The fish that were in the river died. The river became foul. The Egyptians couldn’t drink water from the river. The blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.
And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken.
And the magicians of Egypt did so with their secret arts: and the heart of Pharaoh remained hardened, and he did not hearken unto them; as the Lord had spoken.
23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he didn’t even take this to heart.
And Pharaoh turned away and went into his house, and he did not set his heart to this thing also.
24 All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink; for they couldn’t drink the river water.
And all the Egyptians dug in the neighborhood of the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
25 Seven days were fulfilled, after the LORD had struck the river.
And full seven days elapsed, after that the Lord had smitten the river.

< Exodus 7 >