Exodus 7

¹ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Look, I have made you as a god for Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron is tobe your prophet.

² You must say whatever I command you, and your brother Aaron wil repeat to Pharaoh that he is to letthe Israelites leave his country.

³ But I myself shal make Pharaoh stubborn and shall perform many a sign and wonder in Egypt.

⁴ Since Pharaoh wil not listen to you, I shal lay my hand on Egypt and with great acts of judgement leadmy armies, my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.

⁵ And the Egyptians wil know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand against the Egyptians andlead the Israelites out of their country.'

⁶ Moses and Aaron did exactly as Yahweh had ordered.

⁷ Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸ Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron,

⁹ 'If Pharaoh says to you, "Display some marvel," you must say to Aaron, "Take your staff and throw itdown in front of Pharaoh, and let it turn into a serpent!" '

¹⁰ Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as Yahweh had ordered. Aaron threw down his staff infront of Pharaoh and his officials, and it turned into a serpent.

¹¹ Then Pharaoh in his turn called for the sages and sorcerers, and by their spells the magicians of Egyptdid the same.

¹² Each threw his staff down and these turned into serpents. But Aaron's staff swal owed up theirs.

¹³ Pharaoh, however, remained obstinate and, as Yahweh had foretold, refused to listen to Moses andAaron.

¹⁴ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Pharaoh is adamant. He refuses to let the people go.

¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh tomorrow morning as he makes his way to the water, confront him on the river bankand in your hand take the staff that turned into a snake.

¹⁶ Say to him, "Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, sent me to say: Let my people go and worship in thedesert. Up til now, you have refused to listen.

¹⁷ This is what Yahweh says: You wil know that I am Yahweh by this: with the staff that is in my hand Ishall strike the waters of the River and they wil turn to blood.

¹⁸ The fish in the river wil die, and the River wil stink, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink the riverwater." '

¹⁹ Yahweh said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters ofEgypt -- over their rivers and canals, their marshland, and all their reservoirs -- and they wil turn to blood. Therewil be blood throughout the whole of Egypt, even in sticks and stones." '

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did as Yahweh ordered. He raised his staff and struck the waters of the River, withPharaoh and his officials looking on, and al the water in the River turned to blood.

²¹ The fish in the River died, and the River stank; and the Egyptians could no longer drink the Riverwater. Throughout the whole of Egypt there was blood.

²² But by their spel s the magicians of Egypt did the same; Pharaoh remained obstinate and, as Yahwehhad foretold, refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.

²³ Pharaoh turned away and went back into his palace, taking no notice even of this.

²⁴ And the Egyptians al dug holes along the river-bank in search of drinking water, since they could notdrink the River water.

²⁵ After Yahweh struck the River, seven days went by.

²⁶ Then Yahweh said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh and say to him, "Yahweh says this: Let my people goand worship me.

²⁷ If you refuse to let them go, I shal strike your whole territory with frogs.

²⁸ The River wil swarm with frogs; they wil make their way into your palace, into your bedroom, ontoyour bed, into the houses of your officials and subjects, into your ovens, into your kneading bowls.

²⁹ The frogs wil actual y clamber onto you, onto your subjects and onto all your officials." '