Exodus 7
1 The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet.
2 You shall say everything I command you, and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh so that he lets the Israelites leave his land.
3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my armies, my people, the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.
5 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”
6 Moses and Aaron did this; just as the LORD had commanded them, so they did.
7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:
9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a wonder,’ you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’”
10 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the LORD had commanded: Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Pharaoh, in turn, summoned the wise men and sorcerers; and they, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.
12 Each one threw down his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs.
13 Pharaoh’s heart became stubborn, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
14 The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is heavy; he refuses to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning; he will be going out to the water. Wait for him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake.”
16 “You shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say: «Let my people go, so they may serve me in the wilderness.» But until now you have not obeyed.
17 This is what the LORD says: «By this you will know that I am the LORD: See, with the staff in my hand I will strike the waters of the Nile, and they will turn to blood.
18 The fish in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile.»’”
19 The LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt: over its rivers, its canals, its ponds, and all its reservoirs of water, so that they become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the wood and the stone.’”
20 Moses and Aaron did as the LORD had commanded: he lifted the staff and struck the waters of the Nile before Pharaoh and his servants, and all the waters of the Nile turned to blood.
21 The fish in the Nile died, the Nile stank, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; Pharaoh’s heart became stubborn, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
23 Pharaoh turned around, went into his house, and paid no attention to this either.
24 All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the Nile.
25 Seven days passed after the LORD struck the Nile.
26 The LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: «Let my people go, so they may serve me.
27 If you refuse to let them go, see, I will plague your whole territory with frogs.
28 The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and enter your house, your bedroom and your bed, the houses of your servants and your people, your ovens and your kneading bowls.
29 The frogs will come up over you, your people, and all your servants.»’”
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