God Commands Moses and Aaron

1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, I have made thee a god to Pharao, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 2And 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. 3And I will harden the heart of Pharao, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4And 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. 5And 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. 6And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they. 7And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron his brother was eighty-three years old, when he spoke to Pharao.

Aaron’s Staff

8And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9Now 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. 10And 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. 11But Pharao called together the wise men of Egypt, and the sorcerers, and the charmers also of the Egyptians did likewise with their sorceries. 12And they cast down each his rod, and they became serpents, but the rod of Aaron swallowed up their rods. 13and the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he hearkened not to them, as the Lord charged them.

The First Plague: Blood

14and the Lord said to Moses, The heart of Pharao is made hard, so that he should not let the people go. 15Go 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. 16And 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. 17These 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. 18And 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. 19And 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.

20and 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. 21And 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. 22And 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. 23And Pharao turned and entered into his house, nor did he fix his attention even on this thing. 24And all the Egyptians dug round about the river, so as to drink water, for they could not drink water from the river. 25and seven days were fulfilled after the Lord has smitten the river.