Exodus 7

Chapter 7

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Serpent

1 Then 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.2 Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country.3 But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.4 Even 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.

5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”
6 So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.

7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.
8 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

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.t’”
10 So 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!11 Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic.12 They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

13 Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the LORD had predicted.

A Plague of Blood

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn,t and he still refuses to let the people go.15 So 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.16 Then 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.17 So 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.

18 The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’”

19 Then 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.’”
20 So 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!21 The 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.22 But 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.23 Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind.

24 Then all the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water, for they couldn’t drink the water from the Nile.

25 Seven days passed from the time the LORD struck the Nile.

EXODUS 7

1 The [Lord] said:
I am going to let your brother Aaron speak for you. He will tell your message to the king, just as a prophet speaks my message to the people. 2 Tell Aaron everything I say to you, and he will order the king to let my people leave his country. 3-4 t But I will make the king so stubborn that he won't listen to you. He won't listen even when I do many terrible things to him and his nation. Then I will bring a final punishment on Egypt, and the king will let Israel's families and tribes go.

5 When this happens, the Egyptians will know that I am the [Lord].
6 Moses and Aaron obeyed the [Lord]

7 and spoke to the king. At the time, Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83.

A Stick //Turns into a Snake

8-9 The [Lord] said, “Moses, when the kingt asks you and Aaron to perform a miracle, command Aaron to throw his walking stick down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake.”
10 Moses and Aaron went to the king and his officials and did exactly as the [Lord] had commanded—Aaron threw the stick down, and it turned into a snake. 11 Then the king called in the wise men and the magicians, who used their secret powers to do the same thing— 12 they threw down sticks that turned into snakes. But Aaron's snake swallowed theirs.

13 The king behaved just as the [Lord] had said and stubbornly refused to listen.

The Nile River //Turns into Blood

14  t The [Lord] said to Moses:
The Egyptian kingt stubbornly refuses to change his mind and let the people go. 15 Tomorrow morning take the stick that turned into a snake, then wait beside the Nile River for the king.

16 Tell him, “The [Lord] God of the Hebrews sent me to order you to release his people, so they can worship him in the desert. But until now, you have paid no attention.
17  t “The [Lord] is going to do something to show you that he really is the [Lord]. I will strike the Nile with this stick, and the water will turn into blood.

18 The fish will die, the river will stink, and none of you Egyptians will be able to drink the water.”

19 Moses, then command Aaron to hold his stick over the water. And when he does, every drop of water in Egypt will turn into blood, including rivers, canals, ponds, and even the water in buckets and jars.
20 Moses and Aaron obeyed the [Lord]. Aaron held out his stick, then struck the Nile, as the king and his officials watched. The river turned into blood,

21 the fish died, and the water smelled so bad that none of the Egyptians could drink it. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22 But the Egyptian magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing. The king did just as the [Lord] had said—he stubbornly refused to listen. 23 Then he went back to his palace and never gave it a second thought.

24 The Egyptians had to dig holes along the banks of the Nile for drinking water, because water from the river was unfit to drink.

Frogs