Then He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground.

Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

Whoever sheds human blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made mankind.

Then Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father.

And Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?

So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood;

Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now justice for his blood is required.”

He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes.

But if they will not believe even these two signs nor pay attention to what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

So Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet; and she said, “You are indeed a groom of blood to me!”

So He left him alone. At that time she said, “You are a groom of blood”—because of the circumcision.

Water Turned into Blood

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go.

This is what the Lord says: “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I am going to strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and extend your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, so that they may become blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, both in containers of wood and in containers of stone.’”

So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants; and all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood.

Then the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.

Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

A Memorial of Redemption

For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; but when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you.

If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no guilt for bloodshed on his account.

If the sun has risen on him, there will be guilt for bloodshed on his account—A thief shall certainly make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning.

Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.