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 ¹ And the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.

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

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

 ⁴ And Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that I may 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.

 ⁵ And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring the children of Israel out from among them."

 ⁶ And Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded them.

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

 ⁸ And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

 ⁹ "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Show a miracle for yourselves,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh,' and it shall become a serpent."

 ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the LORD had commanded; Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.

 ¹¹ Then Pharaoh called the wise men and the sorcerers. And the magicians of Egypt also did similar things with their enchantments.

 ¹² For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. Then Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

 ¹³ But he hardened Pharaoh's heart and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

 ¹⁴ And the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.

 ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water; stand by the bank of the Nile until he comes; and take the rod in your hand that was turned into a serpent.

 ¹⁶ And you shall say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; and, behold, until now you have not listened.

 ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord, By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the rod that is in my hand, I will strike the waters that are in the Nile, and they shall be turned to blood.

 ¹⁸ And the fish that are in the Nile shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink of the water of the river.'"

 ¹⁹ And the LORD spoke to Moses, "Say to Aaron, Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, their rivers, their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, in vessels of both wood and stone."

 ²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded; Aaron lifted up the rod and struck the waters in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the waters in the river were turned to blood.

 ²¹ And the fish that were in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the Nile, and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

 ²² But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their enchantments;¹ and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

 ²³ Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house; neither did he take this to heart.

 ²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.

 ²⁵ Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the river.