7:1 So the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God1 to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.2 7:2 You are to speak3 all that I command you,4 and your brother Aaron is to speak to Pharaoh that he must release5 the Israelites from his land. 7:3 But I will harden6 Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply7 my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt, 7:4 Pharaoh will not listen to you.8 I will reach into9 Egypt and bring out my regiments,10 my people the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. 7:5 Then11 the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I extend my hand12 over Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them.
7:6 And Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7:7 Now Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
7:8 The Lord said13 to Moses and Aaron,14 7:9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do15 a miracle,’ and you say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and throw it down16 before Pharaoh,’ it will become17 a snake.” 7:10 When18 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, they did so, just as the Lord had commanded them—Aaron threw19 down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants and it became a snake.20 7:11 Then Pharaoh also summoned wise men and sorcerers,21 and the magicians22 of Egypt by their secret arts23 did the same thing. 7:12 Each man24 threw down his rod, and the rods became snakes. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 7:13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard,25 and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
The First Blow: Water to Blood
7:1426 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard;27 he refuses to release28 the people. 7:15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning when29 he goes out to the water. Position yourself30 to meet him by the edge of the Nile,31 and take32 in your hand the rod33 that was turned into a snake. 7:16 Say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say,34 “Release my people, that they may serve me35 in the desert!” But until now36 you have not listened.37 7:17 Thus says the Lord: “By this you will know that I am the Lord: I am going to strike38 the water of the Nile with the rod that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood.39 7:18 Fish40 in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable41 to drink water from the Nile.”’” 7:19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s water—over their rivers, over their canals,42 over their ponds, and over all their reservoirs43—so that it becomes44 blood.’ There will be blood throughout45 the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.” 7:20 Moses and Aaron did so,46 just as the Lord had commanded. Moses raised47 the rod48 and struck the water that was in the Nile right before Pharaoh’s eyes49 and before the eyes of his servants,50 and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.51 7:21 When the fish52 that were in the Nile died, the Nile began53 to stink, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood54 throughout all the land of Egypt! 7:22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same55 by their secret arts, and so56 Pharaoh’s heart remained hard,57 and he did not listen to Moses and Aaron58—just as the Lord had said. 7:23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not take even this to heart.59 7:24 All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink,60 because they could not drink the water of the Nile.