Exodus 6:28-7:13

Evangelical Heritage Version

²⁸ On the day that the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything that I tell you.”

³⁰ But Moses said in the Lord’s presence, “You see, I am a poor speaker. Why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

Moses and Aaron Appear Before Pharaoh

7 The Lord said to Moses, “Look, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. ² You are to speak everything that I command you, and Aaron your brother is to speak to Pharaoh, so that he will let the Israelites go out from his land. ³ But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn.^[a] I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my divisions, my people the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. ⁵ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand over Egypt, and I bring out the Israelites from their midst.”

⁶ This is what Moses and Aaron did. Just as the Lord commanded them, that is exactly what they did. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Give us a warning sign,’ then you are to tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’”

¹⁰ Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. ¹¹ But then Pharaoh also called for his wise men and sorcerers. Those magicians^[b] of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. ¹² They each threw down their staffs, and those staffs became snakes. However, Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ But Pharaoh’s heart was hard,^[c] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.