⁹ “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘^[a](A)Work a miraculous wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘^(B)Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a ^[b]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 ^[c]his ^[d]servants, and it ^(C)became a ^[e]serpent. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh also ^(D)called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the ^[f](E)magicians of Egypt, did ^[g]the same with ^(F)their secret arts. ¹² And each one threw down his staff, and they became ^[h]serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Yet ^(G)Pharaoh’s heart was ^[i]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 ^[j]hard with firmness; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning ^[k]as ^(H)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 ^(I)the staff that was turned into a serpent. ^16 (J)And you shall say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “^(K)Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.” ¹⁷ Thus says Yahweh, “^(L)By this you shall know that I am Yahweh: behold, I am about to strike ^[l]the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and ^(M)it will be turned to blood. ^18 (N)And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will ^[m]become foul, and the Egyptians will ^(O)be weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” ¹⁹ Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and ^(P)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their ^[n]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 ^[o](Q)the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and ^(R)all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.

¹⁶ As for you, raise up ^(A)your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and split it, and the sons of Israel shall ^[a]go through the midst of the sea on dry land.