Exodus 7

1 So the Lord said to Moses: "See, I have made you *Ex. 4:16; Jer. 1:10as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be *Ex. 4:15, 16your prophet. 2 You *Ex. 4:15; Deut. 18:18shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. 3 And *Ex. 4:21; 9:12I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and *Ex. 11:9; Acts 7:36multiply My *Ex. 4:7; Deut. 4:34signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But *Ex. 3:19, 20; 10:1; 11:9Pharaoh will not heed you, so *Ex. 9:14that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt *Ex. 6:6; 12:12by great judgments. 5 And the Egyptians *Ex. 7:17; 8:22; 14:4, 18; Ps. 9:16shall know that I am the Lord, when I *Ex. 9:15stretch out My hand on Egypt and *Ex. 3:20; 6:6; 12:51bring out the children of Israel from among them."

6 Then Moses and Aaron *Ex. 7:2did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did. 7 And Moses was*Deut. 29:5; 31:2; 34:7; Acts 7:23, 30eighty years old and *Num. 33:39Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Miraculous Rod

8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9 "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, *Ex. 10:1; Is. 7:11; John 2:18; 6:30‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, *Ex. 4:2, 3, 17‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ " 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just *Ex. 7:9as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it *Ex. 4:3became a serpent.

11 But Pharaoh also *Gen. 41:8called the wise men and *Dan. 2:2; 2 Tim. 3:8the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also *Ex. 7:22; 8:7, 18; 2 Tim. 3:9; Rev. 13:13, 14did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13 And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Waters Become Blood

14 So the Lord said to Moses: *Ex. 8:15; 10:1, 20, 27"Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the *Ex. 2:5; 8:20water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and *Ex. 4:2, 3; 7:10the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. 16 And you shall say to him, *Ex. 3:13, 18; 4:22‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, "Let My people go, *Ex. 3:12, 18; 4:23; 5:1, 3; 8:1that they may serve Me in the wilderness"; but indeed, until now you would not hear! 17 Thus says the Lord: "By this *Ex. 5:2; 7:5; 10:2; Ps. 9:16; Ezek. 25:17you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and *Ex. 4:9; 7:20they shall be turned *Rev. 11:6; 16:4, 6to blood. 18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will *Ex. 7:24loathe to drink the water of the river." ’ "

19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and *Ex. 8:5, 6, 16; 9:22; 10:12, 21; 14:21, 26stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in bucketsof wood and pitchersof stone.’ " 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he *Ex. 17:5lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the *Ps. 78:44; 105:29, 30waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians *Ex. 7:18could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

22 *Ex. 7:11Then the magicians of Egypt did *Ex. 8:7so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, *Ex. 3:19; 7:3as the Lord had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. 25 And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.