⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

¹⁴ But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon^[a] for a time, times, and half a time.

Moses Reviews the Covenant

^2 [a]Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country—

³³ Has any nation ever heard the voice of God^[a] speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? ³⁴ Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes.

³⁵ “He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other. ³⁶ He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it.

⁹ “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Serpent

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. ² Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. ³ But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. ⁵ When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.^[a]’”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent! ¹¹ Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. ¹² They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.

A Plague of Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn,^[b] and he still refuses to let the people go.