< Exodus 7 >

1 And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
Yahweh said to Moses, “See, I have made you like a god to Pharaoh. Aaron your brother will be your prophet.
2 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.
You will say everything that I command you to say. Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh so that he will let the people of Israel go from his land.
3 And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and I will multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and I will display many signs of my power, many wonders, in the land of Egypt.
4 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.
But Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will put my hand on Egypt and bring out my groups of fighting men, my people, the descendants of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of punishment.
5 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.
The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I reach out with my hand on Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them.”
6 And Moses and Aaron did so; as the Lord commanded them, so did they.
Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as Yahweh commanded them.
7 And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty and three years old, when they spoke unto Pharaoh.
Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron,
9 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.
“When Pharaoh says to you, 'Do a miracle,' then you will say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may become a snake.'”
10 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.
Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and they did just as Yahweh had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a snake.
11 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.
Then Pharaoh also called for his wise men and sorcerers. They did the same thing by their magic.
12 And they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staves.
Each man threw down his staff, and the staffs became snakes. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their snakes.
13 But the heart of Pharaoh was hard, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken.
Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen, just as Yahweh had foretold.
14 And the Lord said unto Moses, The heart of Pharaoh is obdurate, he refuseth to let the people go.
Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hard, and he refuses to let the people go.
15 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.
Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water. Stand on the riverbank to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that had turned into a snake.
16 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.
Say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say, “Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. Until now you have not listened.”
17 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.
Yahweh says this: “By this you will know that I am Yahweh. I am going to strike the water of the Nile River with the staff that is in my hand, and the river will be turned to blood.
18 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.
The fish that are in the river will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink water from the river.”'”
19 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.
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and reach out with your hand over the waters of Egypt, and over their rivers, streams, pools, and all their ponds, so that their water may become blood. Do this so that there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in containers of wood and stone.'”
20 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.
Moses and Aaron did as Yahweh commanded. Aaron raised the staff and struck the water in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants. All the water in the river turned to blood.
21 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.
The fish in the river died, and the river began to stink. The Egyptians could not drink water from the river, and the blood was everywhere in the land of Egypt.
22 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.
But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their magic. So Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as Yahweh had said would happen.
23 And Pharaoh turned away and went into his house, and he did not set his heart to this thing also.
Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not even pay attention to this.
24 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.
All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink, but they could not drink the water of the river itself.
25 And full seven days elapsed, after that the Lord had smitten the river.
Seven days passed after Yahweh had attacked the river.

< Exodus 7 >