Exodus 7

Revised Geneva Translation

7 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as Pharaoh’s god. And your brother, Aaron, shall be your prophet.

² “You shall speak all that I commanded you. And Aaron, your brother, shall tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go out of his land.

³ “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply My miracles and My wonders in the land of Egypt.

⁴ “And Pharaoh shall not listen to you, so that I may lay My hand upon Egypt and bring My armies (My people, the children of Israel) out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

⁵ “Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth My hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

⁶ Then, Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so they did.

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

⁸ And the LORD had spoken to Moses and Aaron, saying,

⁹ “If Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves’, then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh.’ And it shall be turned into a serpent.”

¹⁰ Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. And Aaron cast forth his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it was turned into a serpent.

¹¹ Then, Pharaoh also called for the wise men and sorcerers. And those charmers of Egypt also did the same with their enchantments.

¹² For every man cast down his rod, and they were turned into serpents. But Aaron’s rod devoured their rods.

¹³ So, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is obstinate. He refuses to let the people go.

¹⁵ “Go to Pharaoh in the morning (lo, he will come forth to the water); and you shall stand and meet him by the river’s edge. And you shall take in your hand the rod which was turned into a serpent.

¹⁶ “And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go so that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” And behold, you would not hear until now.

¹⁷ ‘Thus says the LORD: “In this you shall know that I am the LORD!” Behold, with the rod that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the river; and it shall be turned into blood.’

¹⁸ “And the fish that is in the river shall die. And the river shall stink. And it shall grieve the Egyptians to drink of the water of the river.”

¹⁹ The LORD then spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, and over their ponds, and over all pools of their waters; and they shall be blood.’ And there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.”

²⁰ So, Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded. And he lifted up the rod and struck the water that was in the river in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants. And all the water that was in the river was turned into blood.

²¹ And the fish that were in the river died, and the river stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.

²² And the enchanters of Egypt did the same with their sorceries. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, so that he did not listen to them (as the LORD had said).

²³ Then Pharaoh returned and went back into his house; and this still did not enter into his heart.

²⁴ All the Egyptians then dug all around the river for waters to drink (for they could not drink the water of the river).

²⁵ And this continued a full seven days after the LORD had struck the river.