Aaron’s Miraculous Rod^(A)

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ⁹ “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ^(B)‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ^(C)‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ ” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just ^(D)as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it ^(E)became a serpent.

¹¹ But Pharaoh also ^(F)called the wise men and ^(G)the ^[a]sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also ^(H)did in like manner with their ^[b]enchantments. ¹² For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. ¹³ And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Waters Become Blood

¹⁴ So the Lord said to Moses: ^(I)“Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the ^(J)water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and ^(K)the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. ¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ^(L)‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, ^(M)that they may ^[c]serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord: “By this ^(N)you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and ^(O)they shall be turned ^(P)to blood. ¹⁸ And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will ^(Q)loathe^[d] to drink the water of the river.” ’ ”

¹⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and ^(R)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ” ²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he ^(S)lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the ^(T)waters that were in the river were turned to blood. ²¹ The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians ^(U)could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

^22 (V)Then the magicians of Egypt did ^(W)so with their ^[e]enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, ^(X)as the Lord had said. ²³ And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. ²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. ²⁵ And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, ^(Y)that they may serve Me. ² But if you ^(Z)refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with ^(AA)frogs. ³ So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your ^(AB)bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. ⁴ And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ^(AC)‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” ⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and ^(AD)the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ^7 (AE)And the magicians did so with their ^[f]enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, ^(AF)“Entreat^[g] the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people ^(AG)go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

⁹ And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.”

¹⁰ So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that ^(AH)there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.”

¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses ^(AI)cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. ¹³ So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. ¹⁴ They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was ^(AJ)relief, ^(AK)he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Lice

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become ^[h]lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” ¹⁷ And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and ^(AL)it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

¹⁸ Now ^(AM)the magicians so worked with their ^[i]enchantments to bring forth lice, but they ^(AN)could not. So there were lice on man and beast. ¹⁹ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is ^(AO)the^[j] finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s ^(AP)heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(AQ)“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(AR)“Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ²¹ Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. ²² And in that day ^(AS)I will set apart the land of ^(AT)Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may ^(AU)know that I am the Lord in the midst of the ^(AV)land. ²³ I will ^[k]make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this ^(AW)sign shall be.” ’ ” ²⁴ And the Lord did so. ^(AX)Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

²⁶ And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing ^(AY)the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not ^[l]stone us? ²⁷ We will go ^(AZ)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as ^(BA)He will command us.”

²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. ^(BB)Intercede for me.”

²⁹ Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not ^(BC)deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and ^(BD)entreated the Lord. ³¹ And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. ³² But Pharaoh ^(BE)hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(BF)“Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may ^(BG)serve Me. ² For if you ^(BH)refuse to let them go, and still hold them, ³ behold, the ^(BI)hand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. ⁴ And ^(BJ)the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” ⁵ Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”

⁶ So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and ^(BK)all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. ⁷ Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the ^(BL)heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils^(BM)

⁸ So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹ And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause ^(BN)boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused ^(BO)boils that break out in sores on man and beast. ¹¹ And the ^(BP)magicians could not stand before Moses because of the ^(BQ)boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. ¹² But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he ^(BR)did not heed them, just ^(BS)as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

The Seventh Plague: Hail

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(BT)“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may ^(BU)serve Me, ¹⁴ for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, ^(BV)that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. ¹⁵ Now if I had ^(BW)stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with ^(BX)pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. ¹⁶ But indeed for ^(BY)this purpose I have raised you up, that I may ^(BZ)show My power in you, and that My ^(CA)name may be declared in all the earth. ¹⁷ As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. ¹⁸ Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. ¹⁹ Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ”

²⁰ He who ^(CB)feared the word of the Lord among the ^(CC)servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. ²¹ But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ^(CD)hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” ²³ And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and ^(CE)the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴ So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵ And the ^(CF)hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. ^26 (CG)Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

²⁷ And Pharaoh sent and ^(CH)called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ^(CI)“I have sinned this time. ^(CJ)The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. ^28 (CK)Entreat^[m] the Lord, that there may be no more ^[n]mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you ^(CL)go, and you shall stay no longer.”

²⁹ So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will ^(CM)spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the ^(CN)earth is the Lord’s. ³⁰ But as for you and your servants, ^(CO)I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”

³¹ Now the flax and the barley were struck, ^(CP)for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are ^[o]late crops.

³³ So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and ^(CQ)spread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. ³⁴ And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. ³⁵ So ^(CR)the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.

The Eighth Plague: Locusts^(CS)

10 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; ^(CT)for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, ^(CU)that I may show these signs of Mine before him, ² and that ^(CV)you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may ^(CW)know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to ^(CX)humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may ^(CY)serve Me. ⁴ Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring ^(CZ)locusts into your territory. ⁵ And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and ^(DA)they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. ⁶ They shall ^(DB)fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

⁷ Then Pharaoh’s ^(DC)servants said to him, “How long shall this man be ^(DD)a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”

⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?”

⁹ And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for ^(DE)we must hold a feast to the Lord.”

¹⁰ Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. ¹¹ Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven ^(DF)out from Pharaoh’s presence.

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(DG)“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and ^(DH)eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” ¹³ So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. ¹⁴ And ^(DI)the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; ^(DJ)previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. ¹⁵ For they ^(DK)covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ^(DL)ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Then Pharaoh called ^(DM)for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, ^(DN)“I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. ¹⁷ Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and ^(DO)entreat^[p] the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” ¹⁸ So he ^(DP)went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. ¹⁹ And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them ^(DQ)into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord ^(DR)hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(DS)“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, ^[q]darkness which may even be felt.” ²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was ^(DT)thick darkness in all the land of Egypt ^(DU)three days. ²³ They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. ^(DV)But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

²⁴ Then Pharaoh called to Moses and ^(DW)said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your ^(DX)little ones also go with you.”

²⁵ But Moses said, “You must also give ^[r]us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. ²⁶ Our ^(DY)livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”

²⁷ But the Lord ^(DZ)hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. ²⁸ Then Pharaoh said to him, ^(EA)“Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”

²⁹ So Moses said, “You have spoken well. ^(EB)I will never see your face again.”