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 unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy 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.
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 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 harden the heart of Pharaoh, and I will multiply my signs and my wonders 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.
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 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 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 exactly as the Lord had ordered.
And Moses and Aaron did so; as the Lord commanded them, so did they.
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 and three years old, when they spoke unto Pharaoh.
8 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,
And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, 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.”
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 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.
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 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; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did with their secret arts in like manner.
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.
And they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staves.
13 But Pharaoh had a hard, stubborn attitude, and he wouldn't listen to them, as the Lord had predicted.
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 has a stubborn attitude—he's refusing 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 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.
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 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 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 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.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 went back to his palace and didn't pay any attention to what had happened.
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 alongside the Nile because they couldn't drink its 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 went by after the Lord hit the Nile.
And full seven days elapsed, after that the Lord had smitten the river.
