Shemot - Chapter 7

1. The Lord said to Moses, "See! I have made you a lord over Pharaoh, and Aaron, your brother, will be your speaker.

2. You shall speak all that I command you, and Aaron, your brother, shall speak to Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel out of his land.

3. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and I will increase My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.

4. But Pharaoh will not hearken to you, and I will lay My hand upon the Egyptians, and I will take My legions, My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt with great judgments.

5. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch forth My hand over Egypt, and I will take the children of Israel out of their midst."

6. Moses and Aaron did; as the Lord commanded them, so they did.

7. And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

8. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

9. "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Provide a sign for yourselves,' you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your staff, [and] cast [it] before Pharaoh; it will become a serpent.' "

10. [Thereupon,] Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they did so, as the Lord had commanded; Aaron cast his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

11. [Then,] Pharaoh too summoned the wise men and the magicians, and the necromancers of Egypt also did likewise with their magic.

12. Each one of them cast down his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs.

13. But Pharaoh's heart remained steadfast, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord had spoken.

14. The Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is heavy; he has refused to let the people out.

15. Go to Pharaoh in the morning; behold, he is going forth to the water, and you shall stand opposite him on the bank of the Nile, and the staff that was turned into a serpent you shall take in your hand.

16. And you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to you, saying, "Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me in the desert," but behold, until now, you have not hearkened.

17. So said the Lord, "With this you will know that I am the Lord." Behold, I will smite with the staff that is in my hand upon the water that is in the Nile, and it will turn to blood.

18. And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become putrid, and the Egyptians will weary [in their efforts] to drink water from the Nile.' "

19. The Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch forth your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their bodies of water, and they will become blood, and there will be blood throughout the entire land of Egypt, even in wood and in stone.' "

20. Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord had commanded, and he raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood.

21. And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became putrid; the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile, and there was blood throughout the entire land of Egypt.

22. And the necromancers of Egypt did likewise with their secret rites, and Pharaoh's heart was steadfast, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had spoken.

23. Pharaoh turned and went home, and he paid no heed even to this.

24. All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink from the water of the Nile.

25. Seven full days passed after the Lord had smitten the Nile.

26. The Lord said to Moses, "Come to Pharaoh and say to him, 'So said the Lord, "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

27. But if you refuse to let [them] go, behold, I will smite all your borders with frogs.

28. And the Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your bedroom and upon your bed and into the house of your servants and into your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs;

29. and into you and into your people and into all your servants, the frogs will ascend." ' "