God Commands Moses and Aaron 1 DBY And Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made thee God to Pharaoh; 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 DBY Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go 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 DBY And I will render Pharaoh's heart obdurate, and multiply my signs and my 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 DBY And Pharaoh will not hearken unto you; and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 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 DBY And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I stretch forth my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among 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 DBY And Moses and Aaron did as Jehovah had commanded them: so did they. BSB BSB: So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.
7 DBY And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. BSB BSB: Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Aaron’s Staff 8 DBY And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, BSB BSB: The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
9 DBY When Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying, Do a miracle for yourselves, — then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy staff and cast it before Pharaoh — it will 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 DBY And Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh, and before his bondmen, 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 DBY And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments: 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 DBY they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staves. BSB BSB: Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.
13 DBY And Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said. 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 DBY And Jehovah said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened: he refuseth to 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 DBY Go unto Pharaoh in the morning — behold, he will go out unto the water — and take thy stand by the bank of the river in front of him; and take in thy hand the staff 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 DBY And say unto him, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews has sent me to thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; but 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 DBY Thus saith Jehovah: In this shalt thou know that I am Jehovah — behold, I will smite with the staff that is in my hand upon the water which is in the river, and it shall be turned 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 DBY And the fish that is in the river shall die; and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water out of 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 DBY And Jehovah said to Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy staff, and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of the Egyptians — upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels 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 DBY And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and he lifted up the staff, and smote the waters that were in the river before the eyes of Pharaoh, and before the eyes of his bondmen; and all the waters that were in the river were turned 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 DBY And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river; and the blood was throughout 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 DBY And the scribes of Egypt did so with their sorceries; and Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, neither did he hearken to them, as Jehovah had 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 DBY And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and took not this to heart either. BSB BSB: Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.
24 DBY And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of 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 DBY And seven days were fulfilled, after Jehovah had smitten the river. BSB BSB: And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.