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Exodus 6:29-7:25
The Message
Exodus 6:29-7:25
The Message
29 God addressed Moses, saying, “I am God. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I say to you.”
30 And Moses answered, “Look at me. I stutter. Why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
7 1-5 God told Moses, “Look at me. I’ll make you as a god to Pharaoh and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak everything I command you, and your brother Aaron will tell it to Pharaoh. Then he will release the Israelites from his land. At the same time I am going to put Pharaoh’s back up and follow it up by filling Egypt with signs and wonders. Pharaoh is not going to listen to you, but I will have my way against Egypt and bring out my soldiers, my people the Israelites, from Egypt by mighty acts of judgment. The Egyptians will realize that I am God when I step in and take the Israelites out of their country.”
6-7 Moses and Aaron did exactly what God commanded. Moses was eighty and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
* * *
8-9 Then God spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, “When Pharaoh speaks to you and says, ‘Prove yourselves. Perform a miracle,’ then tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh: It will turn into a snake.’”
10 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what God commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a snake.
11-12 Pharaoh called in his wise men and sorcerers. The magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their spells: each man threw down his staff and they all turned into snakes. But then Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs.
13 Yet Pharaoh was as stubborn as ever—he wouldn’t listen to them, just as God had said.
Strike One: Blood
14-18 God said to Moses: “Pharaoh is a stubborn man. He refuses to release the people. First thing in the morning, go and meet Pharaoh as he goes down to the river. At the shore of the Nile take the staff that turned into a snake and say to him, ‘God, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you with this message, “Release my people so that they can worship me in the wilderness.” So far you haven’t listened. This is how you’ll know that I am God. I am going to take this staff that I’m holding and strike this Nile River water: The water will turn to blood; the fish in the Nile will die; the Nile will stink; and the Egyptians won’t be able to drink the Nile water.’”
19 God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and wave it over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, its ponds, all its bodies of water—so that they turn to blood.’ There’ll be blood everywhere in Egypt—even in the pots and pans.”
20-21 Moses and Aaron did exactly as God commanded them. Aaron raised his staff and hit the water in the Nile with Pharaoh and his servants watching. All the water in the Nile turned into blood. The fish in the Nile died; the Nile stank; and the Egyptians couldn’t drink the Nile water. The blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22-25 But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their incantations. Still Pharaoh remained stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to them as God had said. He spun around and went home, never giving it a second thought. But all the Egyptians had to dig inland from the river for water because they couldn’t drink the Nile water.
Seven days went by after God had struck the Nile.
Exodus 6:29-7:25
New International Version
Exodus 6:29-7:25
New International Version
29 he said to him, “I am the Lord.(A) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,(B) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God(C) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.(D) 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,(E) and though I multiply my signs and wonders(F) in Egypt, 4 he will not listen(G) to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment(H) I will bring out my divisions,(I) my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord(J) when I stretch out my hand(K) against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
6 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded(L) them. 7 Moses was eighty years old(M) and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake
8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,(N)’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”(O)
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers,(P) and the Egyptian magicians(Q) also did the same things by their secret arts:(R) 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart(S) became hard and he would not listen(T) to them, just as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;(U) he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.(V) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,(W) and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship(X) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.(Y) 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:(Z) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.(AA) 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;(AB) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”(AC)
19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff(AD) and stretch out your hand(AE) over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels[a] of wood and stone.”
20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.(AF) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,(AG) and all the water was changed into blood.(AH) 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22 But the Egyptian magicians(AI) did the same things by their secret arts,(AJ) and Pharaoh’s heart(AK) became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water(AL), because they could not drink the water of the river.
The Plague of Frogs
25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.
Footnotes
- Exodus 7:19 Or even on their idols
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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