The Bible

Exodus Chapter 7

¹Yahweh said to Moses, "Look, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. ²Say all that I command you; and Aaron your brother is to tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel leave his land. ³I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴But Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will lay my hand on Egypt, and take my armies, my people the children of Israel, away from the land of Egypt by great judgments. ⁵The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and take the children of Israel out from among them."

⁶Moses and Aaron did so. As Yahweh commanded them, so they did. ⁷Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ⁹"When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Perform a miracle!' then tell Aaron, 'Take your staff, and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.'"

¹⁰Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. ¹¹Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments. ¹²For they each threw down their staffs, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them, as Yahweh had said.

¹⁴Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵Go to Pharaoh in the morning. See, he is going out to the water. Stand by the river's bank to meet him. Take the staff that was turned into a serpent in your hand. ¹⁶Tell him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, so they can serve me in the wilderness. Look, you haven't listened until now." ¹⁷Yahweh says, "In this you will know that I am Yahweh. Look, I will strike the water that is in the river with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. ¹⁸The fish that are in the river will die and the river will become foul. The Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the river."'" ¹⁹Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your staff, 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, so they become blood. There will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"

²⁰Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh commanded. He lifted up the staff, and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants. All the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. ²¹The 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. ²²The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments. So Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them, as Yahweh had said. ²³Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He didn't take even this to heart. ²⁴All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink; for they couldn't drink the river water. ²⁵Seven days were fulfilled, after Yahweh had struck the river.