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"I Will Stretch Out My Hand"

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, "^(C1)See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.² "You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother ^(C1)Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land.³ "But ^(C1)I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may ^(C2)multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.⁴ "When ^(C1)Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and ^(C2)bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by ^(C3)great judgments.⁵ "^(C1)The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I ^(C2)stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst."⁶ So Moses and Aaron did it; ^(C1)as the LORD commanded them, thus they did.⁷ Moses was ^(C1)eighty years old and Aaron ^(F1)eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron's Rod Becomes a Serpent

⁸ Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,⁹ "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, '^(F1)(C1)Work a miracle,' then you shall say to Aaron, '^(C2)Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'"¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and thus they did just as the LORD had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and ^(F1)his servants, and it ^(C1)became a serpent.¹¹ Then Pharaoh also ^(C1)called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the ^(F1)(C2)magicians of Egypt, did ^(F2)the same with ^(C3)their secret arts.¹² For each one threw down his staff and they turned into serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.¹³ Yet ^(C1)Pharaoh's heart was ^(F1)hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

Water Is Turned to Blood

¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is ^(F1)stubborn; he refuses to let the people go.¹⁵ "Go to Pharaoh in the morning ^(F1)as ^(C1)he is going out to the water, and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand ^(C2)the staff that was turned into a serpent.¹⁶ "^(C1)You shall say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, "^(C2)Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now."¹⁷ 'Thus says the LORD, "^(C1)By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, I will strike ^(F1)the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and ^(C2)it will be turned to blood.¹⁸ "^(C1)The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will ^(F1)become foul, and the Egyptians will ^(F2)(C2)find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile."'"¹⁹ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and ^(C1)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their ^(F1)streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"

²⁰ So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up ^(F1)(C1)the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and ^(C2)all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.²¹ The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile ^(F1)became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.^22 (C1)But the ^(F1)magicians of Egypt did ^(F2)the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh's heart was ^(F3)hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.²³ Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house ^(F1)with no concern even for this.²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile.²⁵ Seven days ^(F1)passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.