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 Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made thee God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy 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.
Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go 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 render Pharaoh's heart obdurate, and multiply my signs and my 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 Pharaoh will not hearken unto you; and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
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 the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I stretch forth my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among 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 Jehovah had 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 was eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to 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.’”
When Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying, Do a miracle for yourselves, — then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy staff and cast [it] before Pharaoh — it will 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 to Pharaoh, and did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh, and before his bondmen, 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.
And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments:
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!
they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staves.
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 Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said.
14 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “The king is very stubborn [IDM]. He refuses to allow [my] people to go.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened: he refuseth to 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 unto Pharaoh in the morning — behold, he will go out unto the water — and take thy stand by the bank of the river in front of him; and take in thy hand the staff 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 say unto him, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews has sent me to thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; but behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened.
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]).
Thus saith Jehovah: In this shalt thou know that I am Jehovah — behold, I will smite with the staff that is in my hand upon the water which is in the river, and it shall be turned 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 is in the river shall die; and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water out of 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 Jehovah said to Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy staff, and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of the Egyptians — upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, both in [vessels of] wood and in [vessels 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 Jehovah had commanded; and he lifted up the staff, and smote the waters that were in the river before the eyes of Pharaoh, and before the eyes of his bondmen; and all the waters that were in the river were turned 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 that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river; and the blood was throughout 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 scribes of Egypt did so with their sorceries; and Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, neither did he hearken to them, as Jehovah had said.
23 The king turned and went back to his palace, and he did not think any more about it [IDM].
And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and took not this to heart either.
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 for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of 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 Jehovah had smitten the river.
