Exodus 7
Legacy Standard Bible
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.
Footnotes
- Exodus 7:1 Lit give
- Exodus 7:3 Or miraculous wonders, cf. 7:9
- Exodus 7:4 Lit give
- Exodus 7:9 Lit Show a wonder for yourselves
- Exodus 7:9 Or dragon, sea monster, supernatural foe
- Exodus 7:10 Lit before his
- Exodus 7:10 Or slaves; see Foreword, “The Terminology of Slave”
- Exodus 7:10 Or dragon, sea monster, supernatural foe
- Exodus 7:11 Or soothsayer priests
- Exodus 7:11 Lit thus
- Exodus 7:12 Or dragon, sea monster, supernatural foe
- Exodus 7:13 Lit strengthened
- Exodus 7:14 Or glorified, cf. 14:4; lit heavy
- Exodus 7:15 Lit behold
- Exodus 7:17 Lit upon the waters
- Exodus 7:18 Or have a bad smell
- Exodus 7:19 Or canals
- Exodus 7:20 Lit with the staff
- Exodus 7:21 Had a bad smell
- Exodus 7:22 Or soothsayer priests
- Exodus 7:22 Lit thus
- Exodus 7:22 Lit strengthened
- Exodus 7:25 Lit were fulfilled
Exodus 7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
7 The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.(A) 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.(B) 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.(C) 4 When Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring my people the Israelites, company by company, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.(D) 5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”(E) 6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them.(F) 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.(G)
Aaron’s Miraculous Rod
8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’ ”(H) 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded; Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.(I) 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts.(J) 12 Each one threw down his staff, and they became snakes, but Aaron’s staff swallowed up theirs. 13 However, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.(K)
The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.(L) 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake.(M) 16 Say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, “Let my people go, so that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But until now you have not listened.(N) 17 Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord.” See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood.(O) 18 The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.’ ”(P) 19 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water—so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.”(Q)
20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of his officials he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile; all the water in the river was turned into blood,(R) 21 and the fish in the river died. The river stank so that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt.(S) 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.(T) 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.
25 Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.