7 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “^(A)See, I ^[a]set you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. ² You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother ^(B)Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. ³ But ^(C)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart with stiffness that I may ^(D)multiply My signs and My ^[b]wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ But ^(E)Pharaoh will not listen to you. And I will ^[c]set My hand upon Egypt and ^(F)bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by ^(G)great judgments. ^5 (H)Then the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I ^(I)stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron did it; ^(J)as Yahweh commanded them, thus they did. ⁷ Now Moses was ^(K)eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Serpent

⁸ And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ⁹ “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘^[d](L)Work a miraculous wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘^(M)Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a ^[e]serpent.’” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and thus they did just as Yahweh had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and ^[f]his ^[g]servants, and it ^(N)became a ^[h]serpent. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh also ^(O)called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the ^[i](P)magicians of Egypt, did ^[j]the same with ^(Q)their secret arts. ¹² And each one threw down his staff, and they became ^[k]serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Yet ^(R)Pharaoh’s heart was ^[l]hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

The Plague of Water Turning to Blood

¹⁴ Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is ^[m]hard with firmness; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning ^[n]as ^(S)he is going out to the water, and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand ^(T)the staff that was turned into a serpent. ^16 (U)And you shall say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “^(V)Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.” ¹⁷ Thus says Yahweh, “^(W)By this you shall know that I am Yahweh: behold, I am about to strike ^[o]the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and ^(X)it will be turned to blood. ^18 (Y)And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will ^[p]become foul, and the Egyptians will ^(Z)be weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” ¹⁹ Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and ^(AA)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their ^[q]streams, and over their pools and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

²⁰ So Moses and Aaron did thus, as Yahweh had commanded. And he raised up ^[r](AB)the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and ^(AC)all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. ²¹ And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile ^[s]became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. ^22 (AD)Yet the ^[t]magicians of Egypt did ^[u]the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was ^[v]hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. ²³ Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not set his heart even on this. ²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile. ²⁵ And seven full days ^[w]passed after Yahweh had struck the Nile.