1Yahweh said to Moses, “Listen, I am giving you the authority of God over Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your spokesman.
2You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron will tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his land.
3I will make Pharaoh stubborn, and I will perform many miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.
4But Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will powerfully intervene in Egypt and bring my armies, my people the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt with severe punishments.
5The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I demonstrate my power in Egypt and bring the people of Israel out from among them."
6Moses and Aaron did exactly as Yahweh commanded them.
7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
9"When Pharaoh says to you, 'Perform a miracle!' then you must tell Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will turn into a snake.'"
10So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as Yahweh had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it turned into a snake.
11Then Pharaoh also sent for his wise men and sorcerers. And the Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic spells.
12For each of them threw down their staffs, and they also turned into snakes. But Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs.
13Pharaoh remained stubborn and would not listen to them, just as Yahweh had said.
14Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.
15Go to Pharaoh in the morning. He will be going out to the water. Stand by the riverbank to meet him, and take the rod that turned into a snake in your hand.
16Tell him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say, "Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness." But you haven't listened until now.'
17Yahweh says, 'This is how you will know that I am Yahweh. I will strike the water in the river with the rod in my hand, and it will turn into blood.'
18The fish in the river will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will hate drinking water from the river.'
19Yahweh told Moses, 'Tell Aaron to stretch out his rod over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers, streams, ponds, and all their pools of water—so they turn into blood. There will be blood throughout all of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.'
20Moses and Aaron did as Yahweh commanded. Aaron lifted his rod and struck the water in the river in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and all the water in the river turned into blood.
21The fish in the river died, and the river smelled terrible. The Egyptians could not drink the water from the river, and there was blood everywhere in the land of Egypt.
22Egypt's magicians did the same thing with their magic. But Pharaoh was stubborn and would not listen to them, just as Yahweh had said.
23Pharaoh turned and went into his house, not even thinking seriously about what had happened.
24All the Egyptians dug around the river to find water to drink, because they could not drink the river water.
25Seven days passed after Yahweh had struck the river.