God Commands Moses and Aaron 1 Brenton And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, I have made thee a god to Pharao, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy 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 Brenton And thou shalt say to him all things that I charge thee, and Aaron thy brother shall speak to Pharao, that he should send forth the children of Israel out of 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 Brenton And I will harden the heart of Pharao, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of 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 Brenton And Pharao will not hearken to you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt; and will bring out my people the children of Israel with my power out of the land of Egypt with great vengeance. 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 Brenton And all the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, stretching out my hand upon Egypt, and I will bring out the children of Israel out of the midst of them. 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 Brenton And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they. BSB BSB: So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.
7 Brenton And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron his brother was eighty-three years old, when he spoke to Pharao. BSB BSB: Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Aaron’s Staff 8 Brenton And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, BSB BSB: The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
9 Brenton Now if Pharao should speak to you, saying, Give us a sign or a wonder, then shalt thou say to thy brother Aaron, Take thy rod and cast it upon the ground before Pharao, and before his servants, and it shall become a serpent. 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 Brenton And Moses and Aaron went in before Pharao, and before his servants, and they did so, as the Lord commanded them; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharao, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 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 Brenton But Pharao called together the wise men of Egypt, and the sorcerers, and the charmers also of the Egyptians did likewise with their sorceries. 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 Brenton And they cast down each his rod, and they became serpents, but the rod of Aaron swallowed up their rods. BSB BSB: Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.
13 Brenton And the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he hearkened not to them, as the Lord charged them. BSB BSB: Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
The First Plague: Blood 14 Brenton And the Lord said to Moses, The heart of Pharao is made hard, so that he should not let the people go. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
15 Brenton Go to Pharao early in the morning: behold, he goes forth to the water; and thou shalt meet him on the bank of the river, and thou shalt take in thine hand the rod that was turned into a serpent. 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 Brenton And thou shalt say to him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to thee, saying, Send my people away, that they may serve me in the wilderness, and, behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened. 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 Brenton These things saith the Lord: Hereby shalt thou know that I am the Lord: behold, I strike with the rod that is in my hand on the water which is in the river, and it shall change it into 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 Brenton And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall stink thereupon, and the Egyptians shall not be able to drink water 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 Brenton And the Lord said to Moses, Say to thy brother Aaron, Take thy rod in thy hand, and stretch forth thy hand over the waters of Egypt, and over their rivers, and over their canals, and over their ponds, and over all their standing water, and it shall become blood: and there was blood in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone. 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 Brenton And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded them; and Aaron having lifted up his hand with his rod, smote the water in the river before Pharao, and before his servants, and changed all the water in the river into 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 Brenton And the fish in the river died, and the river stank thereupon; and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt. 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 Brenton And the charmers also of the Egyptians did so with their sorceries; and the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he did not hearken to them, even as the Lord 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 Brenton And Pharao turned and entered into his house, nor did he fix his attention even on this thing. BSB BSB: Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.
24 Brenton And all the Egyptians dug round about the river, so as to drink water, for they could not drink 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 Brenton And seven days were fulfilled after the Lord had smitten the river. BSB BSB: And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.