Exodus 7

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Serpent

7Then 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.H3068H559H4872H7200H5414H430H6547H175H251H50302Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country.H1696H6680H175H251H1696H6547H7971H1121H3478H7763But I will make Pharaoh's heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.H7185H6547H3820H7235H226H4159H776H47144Even 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.H6547H8085H5414H3027H4714H3318H6635H5971H1121H3478H776H4714H1419H82015When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD."H4714H3045H3068H5186H3027H4714H3318H1121H3478H84326So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.H4872H175H6213H3068H6680H62137Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.H4872H8084H8141H1121H175H8084H7969H8141H1121H1696H65478Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,H3068H559H4872H175H5599"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

.'"H6547H1696H559H5414H4159H559H175H3947H4294H7993H6440H6547H857710So 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!H4872H175H935H6547H6213H3068H6680H175H7993H4294H6440H6547H6440H5650H857711Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic.H6547H7121H2450H3784H2748H4714H6213H3651H385812They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.H7993H376H4294H8577H175H4294H1104H429413Pharaoh's heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the LORD had predicted.H2388H6547H3820H8085H3068H1696

A Plague of Blood

14Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn

, and he still refuses to let the people go.H3068H559H4872H6547H3820H3515H3985H5971H797115So 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.H3212H6547H1242H3318H4325H5324H2975H8193H7125H4294H2015H5175H3947H302716Then 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.H559H3068H430H5680H7971H559H5971H7971H5647H4057H3541H808517So 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.H559H3068H3045H3068H5221H4294H3027H4325H2975H2015H181818The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.'"H1710H2975H4191H2975H887H4714H3811H8354H4325H297519Then 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.'"H3068H559H4872H559H175H3947H4294H5186H3027H4325H4714H5104H2975H98H4723H4325H1818H1818H776H4714H6086H6820So 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!H4872H175H6213H3068H6680H7311H4294H5221H4325H2975H5869H6547H5869H5650H4325H2975H2015H181821The 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.H1710H2975H4191H2975H887H4714H3201H8354H4325H2975H1818H776H471422But 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.H2748H4714H6213H3909H6547H3820H2388H8085H3068H169623Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind.H6547H6437H935H1004H7896H3820H206324Then all the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water, for they couldn't drink the water from the Nile.H4714H2658H5439H2975H4325H8354H3201H8354H4325H297525Seven days passed from the time the LORD struck the Nile.H7651H3117H4390H310H3068H5221H2975