Then the LORD said to Moses, “^aSee, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 As for you, you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother ^aAaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. 3 But ^aI will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that I may ^bmultiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 When ^aPharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay My hand on Egypt and ^bbring out My armies, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by ^cgreat judgments. 5 Then ^athe Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I ^bextend My hand over Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.” 6 So Moses and Aaron did this; ^aas the LORD commanded them, so they did. 7 And Moses was ^aeighty years old and Aaron ¹eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

8 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘^1aWork a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘^bTake your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may turn into a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and so they did, just as the LORD had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and ¹his servants, and it ^aturned into a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh also ^acalled for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they too, the ^bsoothsayer priests of Egypt, did the same with ^ctheir secret arts. 12 For each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. 13 Yet ^aPharaoh’s heart was ¹hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is ¹stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning ¹just as ^ahe is going out to the water, and position yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand ^bthe staff that was turned into a serpent. 16 And ^ayou shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “^bLet My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened up to now.” 17 This is what the LORD says: “^aBy this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, I am going to strike ¹the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and ^bit will be turned into blood. 18 Then ^athe fish that are in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will ^1bno longer be able to drink water from the Nile.”’” 19 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and ^aextend your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their ¹streams, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, so that they may become blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, both in containers of wood and in containers of stone.’”

20 So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up ^1athe staff and struck the water that was in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants; and ^ball the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood. 21 Then the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. 22 ^aBut the soothsayer priests of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was ¹hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house ¹with no concern even for this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink from the water of the Nile. 25 Seven days ¹passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.