Exodus 6:28-7:13

Contemporary English Version

The Lord Commands Moses and Aaron To Speak to the King

²⁸ When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ he said, “I am the Lord. Tell the king^[a] of Egypt everything I say to you.”

³⁰ But Moses answered, “You know I am a very poor speaker, and the king will never listen to me.”

7 The Lord said:

I am going to let your brother Aaron speak for you. He will tell your message to the king, just as a prophet speaks my message to the people. ² Tell Aaron everything I say to you, and he will order the king to let my people leave his country. ^3-4 (A) But I will make the king so stubborn that he won't listen to you. He won't listen even when I do many terrible things to him and his nation. Then I will bring a final punishment on Egypt, and the king will let Israel's families and tribes go. ⁵ When this happens, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.

⁶ Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord ⁷ and spoke to the king. At the time, Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83.

A Stick Turns into a Snake

^8-9 The Lord said, “Moses, when the king^[b] asks you and Aaron to perform a miracle, command Aaron to throw his walking stick down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake.”

¹⁰ Moses and Aaron went to the king and his officials and did exactly as the Lord had commanded—Aaron threw the stick down, and it turned into a snake. ¹¹ Then the king called in the wise men and the magicians, who used their secret powers to do the same thing— ¹² they threw down sticks that turned into snakes. But Aaron's snake swallowed theirs. ¹³ The king behaved just as the Lord had said and stubbornly refused to listen.