Exodus 7
Good News Translation
7 The Lord said, “I am going to make you like God to the king, and your brother Aaron will speak to him as your prophet. 2 Tell Aaron everything I command you, and he will tell the king to let the Israelites leave his country. 3-4 (A)But I will make the king stubborn, and he will not listen to you, no matter how many terrifying things I do in Egypt. Then I will bring severe punishment on Egypt and lead the tribes of my people out of the land. 5 The Egyptians will then know that I am the Lord, when I raise my hand against them and bring the Israelites out of their country.” 6 Moses and Aaron did what the Lord commanded. 7 At the time when they spoke to the king, Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three.
Aaron's Walking Stick
8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “If the king demands that you prove yourselves by performing a miracle, tell Aaron to take his walking stick and throw it down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake.” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to the king and did as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw his walking stick down in front of the king and his officers, and it turned into a snake. 11 Then the king called for his wise men and magicians, and by their magic they did the same thing. 12 They threw down their walking sticks, and the sticks turned into snakes. But Aaron's stick swallowed theirs. 13 The king, however, remained stubborn and, just as the Lord had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.
Disasters Strike Egypt
Blood
14 (B)Then the Lord said to Moses, “The king is very stubborn and refuses to let the people go. 15 So go and meet him in the morning when he goes down to the Nile. Take with you the walking stick that was turned into a snake, and wait for him on the riverbank. 16 Then say to the king, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to tell you to let his people go, so that they can worship him in the desert. But until now you have not listened. 17 (C)Now, Your Majesty, the Lord says that you will find out who he is by what he is going to do. Look, I am going to strike the surface of the river with this stick, and the water will be turned into blood. 18 The fish will die, and the river will stink so much that the Egyptians will not be able to drink from it.’”
19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to take his stick and hold it out over all the rivers, canals, and pools in Egypt. The water will become blood, and all over the land there will be blood, even in the wooden tubs and stone jars.”
20 Then Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the presence of the king and his officers, Aaron raised his stick and struck the surface of the river, and all the water in it was turned into blood. 21 The fish in the river died, and it smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink from it. There was blood everywhere in Egypt. 22 Then the king's magicians did the same thing by means of their magic, and the king was as stubborn as ever. Just as the Lord had said, the king refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. 23 Instead, he turned and went back to his palace without paying any attention even to this. 24 All the Egyptians dug along the bank of the river for drinking water, because they were not able to drink water from the river.
25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the river.
Exode 7
Louis Segond
7 L'Éternel dit à Moïse: Vois, je te fais Dieu pour Pharaon: et Aaron, ton frère, sera ton prophète.
2 Toi, tu diras tout ce que je t'ordonnerai; et Aaron, ton frère, parlera à Pharaon, pour qu'il laisse aller les enfants d'Israël hors de son pays.
3 Et moi, j'endurcirai le coeur de Pharaon, et je multiplierai mes signes et mes miracles dans le pays d'Égypte.
4 Pharaon ne vous écoutera point. Je mettrai ma main sur l'Égypte, et je ferai sortir du pays d'Égypte mes armées, mon peuple, les enfants d'Israël, par de grands jugements.
5 Les Égyptiens connaîtront que je suis l'Éternel, lorsque j'étendrai ma main sur l'Égypte, et que je ferai sortir du milieu d'eux les enfants d'Israël.
6 Moïse et Aaron firent ce que l'Éternel leur avait ordonné; ils firent ainsi.
7 Moïse était âgé de quatre-vingts ans, et Aaron de quatre-vingt-trois ans, lorsqu'ils parlèrent à Pharaon.
8 L'Éternel dit à Moïse et à Aaron:
9 Si Pharaon vous parle, et vous dit: Faites un miracle! tu diras à Aaron: Prends ta verge, et jette-la devant Pharaon. Elle deviendra un serpent.
10 Moïse et Aaron allèrent auprès de Pharaon, et ils firent ce que l'Éternel avait ordonné. Aaron jeta sa verge devant Pharaon et devant ses serviteurs; et elle devint un serpent.
11 Mais Pharaon appela des sages et des enchanteurs; et les magiciens d'Égypte, eux aussi, en firent autant par leurs enchantements.
12 Ils jetèrent tous leurs verges, et elles devinrent des serpents. Et la verge d'Aaron engloutit leurs verges.
13 Le coeur de Pharaon s'endurcit, et il n'écouta point Moïse et Aaron selon ce que l'Éternel avait dit.
14 L'Éternel dit à Moïse: Pharaon a le coeur endurci; il refuse de laisser aller le peuple.
15 Va vers Pharaon dès le matin; il sortira pour aller près de l'eau, et tu te présenteras devant lui au bord du fleuve. Tu prendras à ta main la verge qui a été changée en serpent,
16 et tu diras à Pharaon: L'Éternel, le Dieu des Hébreux, m'a envoyé auprès de toi, pour te dire: Laisse aller mon peuple, afin qu'il me serve dans le désert. Et voici, jusqu'à présent tu n'as point écouté.
17 Ainsi parle l'Éternel: A ceci tu connaîtras que je suis l'Éternel. Je vais frapper les eaux du fleuve avec la verge qui est dans ma main; et elles seront changées en sang.
18 Les poissons qui sont dans le fleuve périront, le fleuve se corrompra, et les Égyptiens s'efforceront en vain de boire l'eau du fleuve.
19 L'Éternel dit à Moïse: Dis à Aaron: Prends ta verge, et étends ta main sur les eaux des Égyptiens, sur leurs rivières, sur leurs ruisseaux, sur leurs étangs, et sur tous leurs amas d'eaux. Elles deviendront du sang: et il y aura du sang dans tout le pays d'Égypte, dans les vases de bois et dans les vases de pierre.
20 Moïse et Aaron firent ce que l'Éternel avait ordonné. Aaron leva la verge, et il frappa les eaux qui étaient dans le fleuve, sous les yeux de Pharaon et sous les yeux de ses serviteurs; et toutes les eaux du fleuve furent changées en sang.
21 Les poissons qui étaient dans le fleuve périrent, le fleuve se corrompit, les Égyptiens ne pouvaient plus boire l'eau du fleuve, et il y eut du sang dans tout le pays d'Égypte.
22 Mais les magiciens d'Égypte en firent autant par leurs enchantements. Le coeur de Pharaon s'endurcit, et il n'écouta point Moïse et Aaron, selon ce que l'Éternel avait dit.
23 Pharaon s'en retourna, et alla dans sa maison; et il ne prit pas même à coeur ces choses.
24 Tous les Égyptiens creusèrent aux environs du fleuve, pour trouver de l'eau à boire; car ils ne pouvaient boire de l'eau du fleuve.
25 Il s'écoula sept jours, après que l'Éternel eut frappé le fleuve.
Exodus 7
New King James Version
Moses Before Pharaoh
7 So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you (A)as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be (B)your prophet. 2 You (C)shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. 3 And (D)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and (E)multiply My (F)signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But (G)Pharaoh will not heed you, so (H)that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My [a]armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt (I)by great judgments. 5 And the Egyptians (J)shall know that I am the Lord, when I (K)stretch out My hand on Egypt and (L)bring out the children of Israel from among them.”
6 Then Moses and Aaron (M)did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did. 7 And Moses was (N)eighty years old and (O)Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Aaron’s Miraculous Rod(P)
8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, (Q)‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, (R)‘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 (S)as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it (T)became a serpent.
11 But Pharaoh also (U)called the wise men and (V)the [b]sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also (W)did in like manner with their [c]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: (X)“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 (Y)water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and (Z)the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. 16 And you shall say to him, (AA)‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, (AB)that they may [d]serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! 17 Thus says the Lord: “By this (AC)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 (AD)they shall be turned (AE)to blood. 18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will (AF)loathe[e] to drink the water of the river.” ’ ”
19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and (AG)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 (AH)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 (AI)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 (AJ)could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 (AK)Then the magicians of Egypt did (AL)so with their [f]enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, (AM)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.
Footnotes
- Exodus 7:4 hosts
- Exodus 7:11 soothsayers
- Exodus 7:11 secret arts
- Exodus 7:16 worship
- Exodus 7:18 be weary of drinking
- Exodus 7:22 secret arts
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
