God Appoints Aaron to Assist Moses

7 The Lord told Moses, “Listen! I’ve positioned you as God^[a] to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ² You are to speak everything that I’ve commanded you, and then your brother Aaron will speak to Pharaoh, telling him to let the Israelis go out of his land. ³ I’ll harden Pharaoh’s heart and I’ll add more and more of my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ When Pharaoh won’t listen to you, I’ll let loose my power^[b] upon Egypt. I’ll bring out my tribal divisions—my people the Israelis—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.^{[c] 5} The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand over Egypt to bring the Israelis out from among them.” ⁶ Moses and Aaron did what the Lord commanded them. ⁷ Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Moses’ Staff Becomes a Snake

⁸ Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miraculous sign,’ then you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it in front of Pharaoh.’ It will become a serpent.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and sorcerers, and they—along with the Egyptian magicians—did the same thing with their secret arts. ¹² So each one threw down his staff and it became a serpent, but Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Yet Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn^[d] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said would happen.

Water is Turned into Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord told Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard. He has refused to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he’s going down to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile River^[e] and meet him. Be sure to take with you^[f] the staff that was turned into a snake. ¹⁶ Then say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you. He says, “Let my people go so they may serve^[g] me in the desert, but until now you haven’t obeyed.”’^[h]

¹⁷ “‘This is what the Lord says: “This is how you’ll know that I am the Lord: Right now I’m going to strike the water of the Nile River^[i] with the staff that’s in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile River^[j] will die and the river^[k] will stink. The Egyptians will be unable^[l] to drink water from the Nile River.^[m]”’”

¹⁹ The Lord also told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their Nile River^[n], over their ponds, and over their reservoirs,^[o] and they’ll become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in their^[p] wood and stone containers.’”^[q]

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just what the Lord had commanded. Aaron^[r] raised his staff and struck the water in the Nile River^[s] in front of^[t] Pharaoh and his^[u] officials,^[v] and all the water in the Nile River^[w] turned to blood. ²¹ The fish in the Nile River^[x] died and the river^[y] stank. The Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile River,^[z] and blood was throughout the land of Egypt. ²² But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing^[aa] with their secret arts. Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn,^[ab] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. ²³ Then Pharaoh turned away, went to his palace, and paid no attention to any of this. ²⁴ All the Egyptians dug around the Nile River^[ac] for water to drink because they could not drink from the water in the Nile River.^[ad]

The Plague of Frogs

²⁵ Seven days after^[ae] the Lord had struck the Nile River,^[af]