Exodus - The Old Testament

¹ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Look, I have made you as a god for Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron is to be your prophet.

² You must say whatever I command you, and your brother Aaron will repeat to Pharaoh that he is to let the Israelites leave his country.

³ But I myself shall make Pharaoh stubborn and shall perform many a sign and wonder in Egypt.

⁴ Since Pharaoh will not listen to you, I shall lay my hand on Egypt and with great acts of judgement lead my armies, my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.

⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand against the Egyptians and lead the Israelites out of their country.'

⁶ Moses and Aaron did exactly as Yahweh had ordered.

⁷ Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸ Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron,

⁹ 'If Pharaoh says to you, "Display some marvel," you must say to Aaron, "Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and let it turn into a serpent!" '

¹⁰ Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as Yahweh had ordered. Aaron threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it turned into a serpent.

¹¹ Then Pharaoh in his turn called for the sages and sorcerers, and by their spells the magicians of Egypt did the same.

¹² Each threw his staff down and these turned into serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up theirs.

¹³ Pharaoh, however, remained obstinate and, as Yahweh had foretold, refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.

¹⁴ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Pharaoh is adamant. He refuses to let the people go.

¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh tomorrow morning as he makes his way to the water, confront him on the river bank and in your hand take the staff that turned into a snake.

¹⁶ Say to him, "Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, sent me to say: Let my people go and worship in the desert. Up till now, you have refused to listen.

¹⁷ This is what Yahweh says: You will know that I am Yahweh by this: with the staff that is in my hand I shall strike the waters of the River and they will turn to blood.

¹⁸ The fish in the river will die, and the River will stink, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink the river water." '

¹⁹ Yahweh said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt -- over their rivers and canals, their marshland, and all their reservoirs -- and they will turn to blood. There will be blood throughout the whole of Egypt, even in sticks and stones,"

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did as Yahweh ordered. He raised his staff and struck the waters of the River, with Pharaoh and his officials looking on, and all the water in the River turned to blood.

²¹ The fish in the River died, and the River stank; and the Egyptians could no longer drink the River water. Throughout the whole of Egypt there was blood.

²² But by their spells the magicians of Egypt did the same; Pharaoh remained obstinate and, as Yahweh had foretold, refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.

²³ Pharaoh turned away and went back into his palace, taking no notice even of this.

²⁴ And the Egyptians all dug holes along the river-bank in search of drinking water, since they could not drink the River water.

²⁵ After Yahweh struck the River, seven days went by.

²⁶ Then Yahweh said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh and say to him, "Yahweh says this: Let my people go and worship me.

²⁷ If you refuse to let them go, I shall strike your whole territory with frogs.

²⁸ The River will swarm with frogs; they will make their way into your palace, into your bedroom, onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and subjects, into your ovens, into your kneading bowls.

²⁹ The frogs will actually clamber onto you, onto your subjects and onto all your officials." '