1Then Yahweh said to Moses, “See, I [†]set you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. 3But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart with stiffness that I may multiply My signs and My [†]wonders in the land of Egypt. 4But Pharaoh will not listen to you. And I will [†]set My hand upon Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5Then the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.” 6So Moses and Aaron did it; as Yahweh commanded them, thus they did. 7Now Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Serpent

8And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9“When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘[†]Work a miraculous wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a [†]serpent.’” 10So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and thus they did just as Yahweh had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and [†]his [†]servants, and it became a [†]serpent. 11Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the [†]magicians of Egypt, did [†]the same with their secret arts. 12And each one threw down his staff, and they became [†]serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13Yet Pharaoh’s heart was [†]hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

The Plague of Water Turning to Blood

14Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is [†]hard with firmness; he refuses to let the people go. 15Go to Pharaoh in the morning [†]as he is going out to the water, and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent. 16And you shall say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.” 17Thus says Yahweh, “By this you shall know that I am Yahweh: behold, I am about to strike [†]the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. 18And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will [†]become foul, and the Egyptians will be weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” 19Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to 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 reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

20So Moses and Aaron did thus, as Yahweh had commanded. And he raised up [†]the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. 21And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile [†]became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. 22Yet the [†]magicians of Egypt did [†]the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was [†]hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. 23Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not set his heart even on this. 24So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile. 25And seven full days [†]passed after Yahweh had struck the Nile.

1 Lit give
3 Or miraculous wonders, cf. 7:9
4 Lit give
9 Lit Show a wonder for yourselves
9 Or dragon, sea monster, supernatural foe
10 Lit before his
10 Or slave; see Preface, “The Terminology of Slave”
10 Or dragon, sea monster, supernatural foe
11 Or soothsayer priests
11 Lit thus
12 Or dragon, sea monster, supernatural foe
13 Lit strengthened
14 Or glorified, cf. 14:4; lit heavy
15 Lit behold
17 Lit upon the waters
18 Or have a bad smell
19 Or canals
20 Lit with the staff
21 Had a bad smell
22 Or soothsayer priests
22 Lit thus
22 Lit strengthened
25 Lit were fulfilled