Exodus 7
7
1The Lord answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. 2You must say whatever I command you; then Aaron your brother must declare it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites go from his land. 3But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart # 7:3 Ex 4:21 and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put my hand into Egypt and bring the military divisions of my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord # 7:5 Ex 7:17; 8:19,22; 14:4,18 when I stretch out my hand # 7:5 Ex 3:20; 6:6 against Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them.”
6So Moses and Aaron did this; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7Moses was eighty years old # 7:7 Dt 29:5; 31:2; 34:7; Ac 7:23,30 and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9“When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh. It will become a serpent.’ ” # 7:9 Ex 4:2; Is 7:11; Jn 2:18; 6:30 10So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. 11But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers — the magicians # 7:11 Gn 41:8; 2Tm 3:8 of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices. # 7:11 Ex 7:22; 8:7,18 12Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. 13However, Pharaoh’s heart was hard, # 7:13 Ex 4:21; 7:22; 8:15,19,32; 9:7,12,34; 10:1,20,27; 11:10; 14:8 and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood
14Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard: He refuses to let the people go. 15Go to Pharaoh in the morning. When you see him walking out to the water, stand ready to meet him by the bank of the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake. # 7:14–15 Ex 4:2–3; 8:15; 10:1,20,27 16Tell him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let my people go, so that they may worship # 7:16 Or serve; Ex 4:23 me in the wilderness. But so far you have not listened. 17This is what the Lord says: Here is how you will know that I am the Lord. Watch. I am about to strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, and it will turn to blood. 18The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from it.”
19So the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand # 7:19 Ex 8:5–6,16–17; 9:22; 10:12,21; 14:21,26 over the waters of Egypt — over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs — and they will become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”
20Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood. # 7:20 Ex 17:5; Ps 78:44; 105:29 21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
22But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. 23Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and didn’t take even this to heart. 24All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink the water from the river. 25Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.
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Exodus 7: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Exodus 7
7
The first nine disasters
1The LORD said:
I am going to let your brother Aaron speak for you. He will tell your message to the king, just as a prophet speaks my message to the people. 2Tell Aaron everything I say to you, and he will order the king to let my people leave his country. 3-4But I will make the king so stubborn that he won't listen to you. He won't listen even when I do many terrible things to him and his nation. Then I will bring a final punishment on Egypt, and the king will let Israel's families and tribes go.#Ac 7.36. 5When this happens, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.
6Moses and Aaron obeyed the LORD 7and spoke to the king. At the time, Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three.
A stick turns into a snake
8-9The LORD said, “Moses, when the king#7.8,9 the king: See the note at 1.11. asks you and Aaron to perform a miracle, command Aaron to throw his walking stick down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake.”
10Moses and Aaron went to the king and his officials and did exactly as the LORD had commanded—Aaron threw the stick down, and it turned into a snake. 11Then the king called in the wise men and the magicians, who used their secret powers to do the same thing— 12they threw down sticks that turned into snakes. But Aaron's snake swallowed theirs. 13The king behaved just as the LORD had said and stubbornly refused to listen.
The River Nile turns into blood
14The LORD said to Moses:
The Egyptian king#7.14 The Egyptian king: See the note at 1.11. stubbornly refuses to change his mind and let the people go. 15Tomorrow morning take the stick that turned into a snake, then wait beside the River Nile for the king. 16Tell him, “The LORD God of the Hebrews sent me to order you to release his people, so they can worship him in the desert. But until now, you have paid no attention.
17“The LORD is going to do something to show you that he really is the LORD. I will strike the Nile with this stick, and the water will turn into blood.#Rev 16.4. 18The fish will die, the river will stink, and none of you Egyptians will be able to drink the water.”
19Moses, then command Aaron to hold his stick over the water. And when he does, every drop of water in Egypt will turn into blood, including rivers, canals, ponds, and even the water in buckets and jars.
20Moses and Aaron obeyed the LORD. Aaron held out his stick, then struck the Nile, as the king and his officials watched. The river turned into blood, 21the fish died, and the water smelt so bad that none of the Egyptians could drink it. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22But the Egyptian magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing. The king did just as the LORD had said—he stubbornly refused to listen. 23Then he went back to his palace and never gave it a second thought. 24The Egyptians had to dig holes along the banks of the Nile for drinking water, because water from the river was unfit to drink.
Frogs
25Seven days after the LORD had struck the Nile,
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012