| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The LORD answered Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. | 1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. |
| 2You must say whatever I command you; then Aaron your brother must declare it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites go from his land. | 2Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. |
| 3But I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. | 3But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. |
| 4Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put my hand into Egypt and bring the military divisions of my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. | 4Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. |
| 5The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them." | 5When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” |
| 6So Moses and Aaron did this; they did just as the LORD commanded them. | 6So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them. |
| 7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh. | 7Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh. |
| 8The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, | 8Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, |
| 9"When Pharaoh tells you, 'Perform a miracle,' tell Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh. It will become a serpent.'" | 9“Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent. ’” |
| 10So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. | 10So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the LORD had commanded them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent! |
| 11But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers--the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices. | 11Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. |
| 12Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs. | 12They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. |
| 13However, Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said. | 13Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the LORD had predicted. A Plague of Blood |
| 14Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hard: He refuses to let the people go. | 14Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn, and he still refuses to let the people go. |
| 15Go to Pharaoh in the morning. When you see him walking out to the water, stand ready to meet him by the bank of the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake. | 15So go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes down to the river. Stand on the bank of the Nile and meet him there. Be sure to take along the staff that turned into a snake. |
| 16Tell him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness, but so far you have not listened. | 16Then announce to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, “Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.” Until now, you have refused to listen to him. |
| 17This is what the LORD says: Here is how you will know that I am the LORD. Watch. I am about to strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, and it will turn to blood. | 17So this is what the LORD says: “I will show you that I am the LORD.” Look! I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff in my hand, and the river will turn to blood. |
| 18The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from it." | 18The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’” |
| 19So the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt--over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs--and they will become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers." | 19Then the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt—all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.’” |
| 20Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood. | 20So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded them. As Pharaoh and all of his officials watched, Aaron raised his staff and struck the water of the Nile. Suddenly, the whole river turned to blood! |
| 21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt. | 21The fish in the river died, and the water became so foul that the Egyptians couldn’t drink it. There was blood everywhere throughout the land of Egypt. |
| 22But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said. | 22But again the magicians of Egypt used their magic, and they, too, turned water into blood. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had predicted. |
| 23Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and didn't take even this to heart. | 23Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind. |
| 24All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink the water from the river. | 24Then all the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water, for they couldn’t drink the water from the Nile. |
| 25Seven days passed after the LORD struck the Nile. | 25Seven days passed from the time the LORD struck the Nile. |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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