ExodusChapter 7

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¹The LORD answered Moses, "Look, I have made you like God to Pharaoh. Your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ²You must say everything I tell you to say. Then your brother Aaron must tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave his land. ³But I will harden Pharaoh's heart. I will do many signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴Even so, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt. With mighty acts of judgment, I will bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt, group by group. ⁵I will reach out my hand against Egypt. I will bring the Israelites out from among them. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." ⁶So Moses and Aaron did just what the LORD told them to do. ⁷Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh. ⁸The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹"When Pharaoh says to you, 'Do a miracle,' you must say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh.' It will turn into a snake." ¹⁰So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did just what the LORD had told them. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials. It turned into a snake. ¹¹But Pharaoh called for the wise men, sorcerers, and magicians of Egypt. They did the same thing with their secret magic. ¹²Each one threw down his staff, and it turned into a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³Still, Pharaoh's heart was hardened. He would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. ¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵In the morning, go to Pharaoh as he walks out to the water. Wait by the bank of the Nile to meet him. Take the staff that turned into a snake. Hold it in your hand. ¹⁶Then say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to tell you this: Let my people go so they can worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. ¹⁷This is what the LORD says: Here is how you will know that I am the LORD. Look! I will strike the water of the Nile with the staff in my hand. The water will turn into blood. ¹⁸The fish in the Nile will die. The river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.'" ¹⁹The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your staff. Reach out your hand over the waters of Egypt. Reach over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their pools of water. They will turn into blood.' There will be blood all over Egypt. It will even be in the wood and stone jars." ²⁰Moses and Aaron did just what the LORD told them. Pharaoh and his officials watched. Aaron raised his staff and struck the water of the Nile. All the water turned into blood. ²¹The fish in the Nile died. The river smelled so bad that the Egyptians couldn't drink its water. There was blood all over the land of Egypt. ²²But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their secret magic. So Pharaoh's heart was hardened. He would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. ²³Pharaoh just turned around and went into his palace. He didn't give any of this a second thought. ²⁴All the Egyptians dug along the Nile to find water to drink, because they couldn't drink the water from the river. ²⁵Seven full days passed after the LORD struck the Nile.