New King James Version

New Living Translation

Moses Before Pharaoh

So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.

1

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Serpent

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet.

2

You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land.

2

Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country.

3

And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.

3

But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.

4

But Pharaoh will not heed you, so 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 by great judgments.

4

Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces — my people, the Israelites — from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.

5

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

5

When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”

6

Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did.

6

So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.

7

And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

7

Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.

8

Aaron’s Miraculous Rod

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

8

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

9

“When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ ”

9

“Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.a’”

10

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

10

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the LORD had commanded them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent!

11

But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the [b]sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their [c]enchantments.

11

Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic.

12

For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

12

They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

13

And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

13

Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the LORD had predicted.

14

The First Plague: Waters Become Blood

So the Lord said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.

14

A Plague of Blood

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn,b and he still refuses to let the people go.

15

Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.

15

So go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes down to the river. Stand on the bank of the Nile and meet him there. Be sure to take along the staff that turned into a snake.

16

And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may [d]serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear!

16

Then announce to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, “Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.” Until now, you have refused to listen to him.

17

Thus says the Lord: “By this 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 they shall be turned to blood.

17

So this is what the LORD says: “I will show you that I am the LORD.” Look! I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff in my hand, and the river will turn to blood.

18

And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe[e] to drink the water of the river.” ’ ”

18

The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’”

19

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and 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.’ ”

19

Then the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt — all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.’”

20

And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he 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 waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

20

So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded them. As Pharaoh and all of his officials watched, Aaron raised his staff and struck the water of the Nile. Suddenly, the whole river turned to blood!

21

The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

21

The fish in the river died, and the water became so foul that the Egyptians couldn’t drink it. There was blood everywhere throughout the land of Egypt.

22

Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their [f]enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

22

But again the magicians of Egypt used their magic, and they, too, turned water into blood. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had predicted.

23

And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.

23

Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind.

24

So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river.

24

Then all the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water, for they couldn’t drink the water from the Nile.

25

And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.

25

Seven days passed from the time the LORD struck the Nile.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Exodus 7

Exodus 7