I Will Extend My Hand

Then the Lord said to Moses, “(A)See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. As for you, you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother (B)Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. But (C)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that I may (D)multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. When (E)Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay My hand on Egypt and (F)bring out My armies, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by (G)great judgments. Then (H)the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I (I)extend My hand over Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.” So Moses and Aaron did this; (J)as the Lord commanded them, so they did. And Moses was (K)eighty years old and Aaron [a]eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Turns into a Serpent

Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘[b](L)Work a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘(M)Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may turn into a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and so they did, just as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and [c]his servants, and it (N)turned into a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh also (O)called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they too, the (P)soothsayer priests of Egypt, did the same with (Q)their secret arts. 12 For each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. 13 Yet (R)Pharaoh’s heart was [d]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Water Turned into Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is [e]stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning [f]just as (S)he is going out to the water, and position yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand (T)the staff that was turned into a serpent. 16 And (U)you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “(V)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened up to now.” 17 This is what the Lord says: “(W)By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I am going to strike [g]the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and (X)it will be turned into blood. 18 Then (Y)the fish that are in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will [h](Z)no longer be able to drink water from the Nile.”’” 19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and (AA)extend your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their [i]streams, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, so that they may become blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, both in containers of wood and in containers of stone.’”

20 So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up [j](AB)the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants; and (AC)all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood. 21 Then the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. 22 (AD)But the soothsayer priests of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was [k]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house [l]with no concern even for this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink from the water of the Nile. 25 Seven days [m]passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 7:7 Lit 83 years old
  2. Exodus 7:9 Lit Show a wonder for yourselves
  3. Exodus 7:10 Lit before his
  4. Exodus 7:13 Lit strong
  5. Exodus 7:14 Or hard; lit heavy
  6. Exodus 7:15 Lit behold
  7. Exodus 7:17 Lit upon the waters
  8. Exodus 7:18 Lit be weary of
  9. Exodus 7:19 Or canals
  10. Exodus 7:20 Lit with the staff
  11. Exodus 7:22 Lit strong
  12. Exodus 7:23 Lit and he did not set his heart even to this
  13. Exodus 7:25 Lit were fulfilled

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God(A) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.(B) You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,(C) and though I multiply my signs and wonders(D) in Egypt, he will not listen(E) to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment(F) I will bring out my divisions,(G) my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord(H) when I stretch out my hand(I) against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded(J) them. Moses was eighty years old(K) and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,(L)’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”(M)

10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers,(N) and the Egyptian magicians(O) also did the same things by their secret arts:(P) 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart(Q) became hard and he would not listen(R) to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;(S) he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.(T) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,(U) and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship(V) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.(W) 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:(X) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.(Y) 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;(Z) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”(AA)

19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff(AB) and stretch out your hand(AC) over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels[a] of wood and stone.”

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.(AD) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,(AE) and all the water was changed into blood.(AF) 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

22 But the Egyptian magicians(AG) did the same things by their secret arts,(AH) and Pharaoh’s heart(AI) became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water(AJ), because they could not drink the water of the river.

The Plague of Frogs

25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 7:19 Or even on their idols