The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

“Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.

His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.

But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.

In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

“My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

“Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt,

Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Blood

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.

But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.

But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.