Chronological
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] 8 1 [ag]he told Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let my people go so they may serve[ah] me. 2 And if you refuse to let them go, then I’m going to strike all your territory with frogs. 3 The Nile will swarm with frogs. They’ll come up and enter your house, your bedroom, your bed, and your servants’ houses. They’ll jump on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs. 4 The frogs will be all over you and your servants.”’”
5 [ai]Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the Nile River,[aj] and over the ponds, and bring up frogs over the land of Egypt.’” 6 So Aaron stretched his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same thing[ak] with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord so that he may remove the frogs from me and my people. I’ll let the people go so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
9 Moses told Pharaoh, “You decide[al] when I should plead for you, your servants, and your people to remove[am] the frogs from you and your household. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.[an]”
10 Pharaoh[ao] said, “Tomorrow.”
Moses[ap] said, “It will be just as you say,[aq] so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you, your house, your officials,[ar] and your people. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.[as]”
12 Then Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s presence, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs which he had sent[at] on Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did just as Moses asked,[au] and the frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards, and in the fields. 14 They gathered them up into large piles and the land smelled terrible. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
The Plague of Gnats
16 Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff, strike the dust of the ground, and the dust[av] will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’” 17 They did this.[aw] Aaron stretched his hand out with his staff, struck the dust of the land, and gnats came on people and animals—all the dust of the ground became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried[ax] to do the same thing[ay] with their secret arts, but they were unable to bring out the gnats. The gnats were on the people and the animals.
19 The magicians told Pharaoh, “It is the finger of God!”[az] But Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn[ba] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
20 The Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he’s going down to the water. You are to say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let my people go so they can serve[bb] me. 21 But if you don’t let my people go, I’ll send swarms of insects upon you, your servants, your people, and your households. The houses of Egypt—and even the ground on which they stand—will be filled with swarms of insects. 22 On that day I’ll treat the land of Goshen where my people live[bc] differently so that swarms of insects won’t be there. As a result, you will know that I the Lord am in the midst of the land. 23 I’ll make a distinction between my people and your people, and this sign will occur tomorrow.”’”
24 The Lord did this, and dense swarms of insects came into the house of Pharaoh and into the houses of his servants. The land was ruined throughout[bd] Egypt because of the swarms of insects. 25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, offer sacrifices to your God in the land.”
26 “It wouldn’t be right to sacrifice in this way,”[be] Moses replied, “because if we do,[bf] we will sacrifice to the Lord our God what is offensive to the Egyptians.[bg] If we offer sacrifices that are offensive to the Egyptians[bh] in front of them, they’ll stone us, won’t they? 27 We must go a three-day journey into the desert, and we’ll offer sacrifices to the Lord our God just as he has told us.”
28 Then Pharaoh said, “I’ll let you go so you can offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert. But you must not go very far away. Pray for me.”
29 Moses said, “Right now I’m going to leave you, and I’ll pray to the Lord that the swarms of insects may depart from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people tomorrow. But Pharaoh, don’t continue lying by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
30 Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and prayed to the Lord. 31 The Lord did what Moses asked,[bi] and the swarms of insects departed from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not one remained. 32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart, and he did not let the people go.
The Plague on the Egyptian Cattle
9 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: “Let my people go so they may serve[bj] me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them, 3 then the hand of the Lord will come[bk] with a very severe plague on your livestock in the fields, on horses, on donkeys, on camels, on cattle, and on sheep. 4 The Lord will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of the Egyptians, so that nothing that belongs to the Israelis will die.”’”
5 The Lord set the time: “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 The Lord did this thing the next day, and all the livestock of the Egyptians died. But not one of the livestock died that belonged to the Israelis. 7 Then Pharaoh inquired and discovered[bl] that not a single one of the livestock of Israel had died, but Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn[bm] and he would not let the people go.
The Plague of Boils
8 Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses throw it into the air[bn] in front of Pharaoh. 9 The soot[bo] will become dust over the entire land of Egypt, and it will become boils erupting into sores on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt.”
10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. Then Moses threw it into the air,[bp] and it became boils producing running sores on people and animals. 11 The magicians were not able to stand before Moses because of the boils, because the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12 The Lord made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn[bq] so that he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had told Moses.
The Plague of Hail
13 Then the Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning, present yourself to Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: “Let my people go so they may serve[br] me. 14 Indeed, this time I’m sending all my plagues against you[bs], your officials,[bt] and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 Indeed, by now I could have sent forth my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been destroyed from the earth. 16 However, I’ve kept you standing[bu] in order to show you my power and to declare my name in all the earth. 17 You are still acting arrogantly against my people by not letting them go. 18 Look! About this time tomorrow, I’ll send a severe hail storm, such as has not happened in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 So send for your livestock and everything that belongs to you that’s out in the field, because[bv] every person and animal found in the field that has not been brought inside to shelters will die when the hail comes down on them.”’”
20 Whoever feared the message from the Lord among Pharaoh’s officials[bw] made his servants and livestock flee into shelters. 21 But whoever did not pay attention[bx] to the message from the Lord left his servants and his livestock outside in the fields.
22 Then the Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be hail in all the land of Egypt, on people, animals, and all the vegetation of the field throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. The Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt.
24 There was very heavy hail, and lightning was flashing continuously in the midst of the hail. There had not been anything like it in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 The hail struck everything, including people and animals, outside in the fields throughout the land of Egypt. The hail struck all the vegetation of the fields and shattered all the trees in the orchards. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelis were, was there no hail.
27 Pharaoh sent word[by] and called for Moses and Aaron. “I’ve sinned this time,” he told them. “The Lord is righteous, but I and my people are wicked. 28 Pray to the Lord! There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail! I’ll let you go, and you need not stay any longer.”
29 Moses told him, “When I leave the city I’ll spread out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease and the hail won’t continue, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord. 30 But as for you and your officials,[bz] I know that you don’t yet fear the Lord God.” 31 (Now the flax and the barley were ruined because the barley was in ear and the flax was in bud. 32 The wheat and the wild grain[ca] were not ruined because they were late crops.)
33 Then Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the Lord. The thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured out on the land. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he continued to sin. He, along with his officials,[cb] hardened his heart. 35 Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn,[cc] and he did not let the Israelis go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.