1 ARST Yahweh answered,“See, I am putting you in front of the king{ like} a god, and your brother Aaron will{ speak for you like} a prophet. BSB BSB: The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
2 ARST You must tell everything I instruct you to your{ older} brother Aaron, and he will tell it all to the king. He must tell the king to let the Israelites leave his land. BSB BSB: You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.
3 ARST But I will make the king stubborn. Because of this, even though I will do many kinds of miracles here in Egypt, BSB BSB: But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
4 ARST the king will not obey you. Then I will punish the Egyptians very severely and will lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt as an army. BSB BSB: Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
5 ARST Once I have proven how powerful I am to the Egyptians by rescuing the Israelites from being their slaves, they will know that I am Yahweh.” BSB BSB: And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”
6 ARST Moses and Aaron did everything that Yahweh told them to do. BSB BSB: So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.
7 ARST When{ God sent} them to talk to the king of Egypt, Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old. BSB BSB: Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 ARST Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, BSB BSB: The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
9 ARST “If the king says to you,‘Show me that God sent you by performing a miracle,’ then say to Aaron,‘Throw your staff down in front of the king in order that it may become a snake.’” BSB BSB: “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.”
10 ARST So Aaron and Moses went to the king and did what Yahweh told them to do. Aaron threw his staff down in front of the king and his officials, and it became a snake. BSB BSB: So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.
11 ARST Then the king called his wise men and men who did magic. They did the same thing, using their magic. BSB BSB: But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.
12 ARST They all threw down their staffs, and the staffs became snakes. Then Aaron’ s snake ate their snakes! BSB BSB: Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.
13 ARST But, just as Yahweh had said, the king continued to be stubborn and would not obey what Aaron and Moses said. BSB BSB: Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
14 ARST Then Yahweh said to Moses,“The king is very stubborn. He refuses to allow my people to go. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
15 ARST So go meet him as he is going down to the Nile River in the morning. Wait for him on the riverbank. Take with you the staff that became a snake. BSB BSB: Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.
16 ARST Say to him,‘The God{ named} Yahweh, the one we Hebrews worship, sent me to you to tell you to let his people go in order that they may worship him in the desert. But you still have not obeyed. BSB BSB: Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.
17 ARST So Yahweh says this:“This is the way you will know that I am Yahweh. Look out! I am going to hit the water that is in the Nile River with the staff that is in my hand.{ When I do that,} the water will become blood. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.
18 ARST Then the fish in the Nile River will die, and the water in the river will smell bad. The Egyptians will wear themselves out trying to find water to drink from the river.”’” BSB BSB: The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”
19 ARST Yahweh continued,“Then tell Aaron,‘Hold your staff out{ as though you were holding it} over all the water in Egypt— over the rivers, the canals, the ponds, and over all the stored water, in order that all of it may become blood.’{ When Aaron does that,} there will be blood throughout Egypt, even in wooden and stone jars.” BSB BSB: And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”
20 ARST So Aaron and Moses did what Yahweh told them to do. As the king and his officials were watching, Aaron lifted up his staff and then struck the water in the Nile River with it. All the water in the river turned to blood. BSB BSB: Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood.
21 ARST Then all the fish in the river died. The water smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink the water from the river. All the water in Egypt was blood. BSB BSB: The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
22 ARST But the Egyptian men who did magic did the same thing using their magic. So, just as Yahweh had said, the king continued to be stubborn and would not obey what Aaron and Moses said. BSB BSB: But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
23 ARST Then the king turned and went back to his palace, and he did not think any more about it. BSB BSB: Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.
24 ARST All the Egyptians dug into the ground near the Nile River to get water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river. BSB BSB: So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.
25 ARST One week passed after Yahweh struck the Nile River. BSB BSB: And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.