1 And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.
3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and 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 out the children of Israel from among them.
6 And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they.
7 And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
8 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
13 And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.
15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.
16 And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.
17 Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river.
19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.
23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.
24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.
1 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 See, H7200 I have made H5414 thee a god H430 to Pharaoh: H6547 and Aaron H175 thy brother H251 shall be thy prophet. H5030
2 Thou shalt speak H1696 all that I command H6680 thee: and Aaron H175 thy brother H251 shall speak H1696 unto Pharaoh, H6547 that he send H7971 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 out of his land. H776
3 And I will harden H7185 Pharaoh's H6547 heart, H3820 and multiply H7235 my signs H226 and my wonders H4159 in the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
4 But Pharaoh H6547 shall not hearken H8085 unto you, that I may lay H5414 my hand H3027 upon Egypt, H4714 and bring forth H3318 mine armies, H6635 and my people H5971 the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 out of the land H776 of Egypt H4714 by great H1419 judgments. H8201
5 And the Egyptians H4714 shall know H3045 that I am the LORD, H3068 when I stretch forth H5186 mine hand H3027 upon Egypt, H4714 and bring out H3318 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 from among H8432 them.
6 And Moses H4872 and Aaron H175 did H6213 as the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 them, so did H6213 they.
7 And Moses H4872 was fourscore H8084 years H8141 old, H1121 and Aaron H175 fourscore H8084 and three H7969 years H8141 old, H1121 when they spake H1696 unto Pharaoh. H6547
8 And the LORD H3068 spake H559 unto Moses H4872 and unto Aaron, H175 saying, H559
9 When Pharaoh H6547 shall speak H1696 unto you, saying, H559 Shew H5414 a miracle H4159 for you: then thou shalt say H559 unto Aaron, H175 Take H3947 thy rod, H4294 and cast H7993 it before H6440 Pharaoh, H6547 and it shall become a serpent. H8577
10 And Moses H4872 and Aaron H175 went in H935 unto Pharaoh, H6547 and they did H6213 so as the LORD H3068 had commanded: H6680 and Aaron H175 cast down H7993 his rod H4294 before H6440 Pharaoh, H6547 and before H6440 his servants, H5650 and it became a serpent. H8577
11 Then Pharaoh H6547 also called H7121 the wise men H2450 and the sorcerers: H3784 now the magicians H2748 of Egypt, H4714 they also did H6213 in like manner H3651 with their enchantments. H3858
12 For they cast down H7993 every man H376 his rod, H4294 and they became serpents: H8577 but Aaron's H175 rod H4294 swallowed up H1104 their rods. H4294
13 And he hardened H2388 Pharaoh's H6547 heart, H3820 that he hearkened H8085 not unto them; as the LORD H3068 had said. H1696
14 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Pharaoh's H6547 heart H3820 is hardened, H3515 he refuseth H3985 to let the people H5971 go. H7971
15 Get H3212 thee unto Pharaoh H6547 in the morning; H1242 lo, he goeth out H3318 unto the water; H4325 and thou shalt stand H5324 by the river's H2975 brink H8193 against he come; H7125 and the rod H4294 which was turned H2015 to a serpent H5175 shalt thou take H3947 in thine hand. H3027
16 And thou shalt say H559 unto him, The LORD H3068 God H430 of the Hebrews H5680 hath sent H7971 me unto thee, saying, H559 Let my people H5971 go, H7971 that they may serve H5647 me in the wilderness: H4057 and, behold, hitherto H3541 thou wouldest not hear. H8085
17 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 In this thou shalt know H3045 that I am the LORD: H3068 behold, I will smite H5221 with the rod H4294 that is in mine hand H3027 upon the waters H4325 which are in the river, H2975 and they shall be turned H2015 to blood. H1818
18 And the fish H1710 that is in the river H2975 shall die, H4191 and the river H2975 shall stink; H887 and the Egyptians H4714 shall lothe H3811 to drink H8354 of the water H4325 of the river. H2975
19 And the LORD H3068 spake H559 unto Moses, H4872 Say H559 unto Aaron, H175 Take H3947 thy rod, H4294 and stretch out H5186 thine hand H3027 upon the waters H4325 of Egypt, H4714 upon their streams, H5104 upon their rivers, H2975 and upon their ponds, H98 and upon all their pools H4723 of water, H4325 that they may become blood; H1818 and that there may be blood H1818 throughout all the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 both in vessels of wood, H6086 and in vessels of stone. H68
20 And Moses H4872 and Aaron H175 did H6213 so, as the LORD H3068 commanded; H6680 and he lifted up H7311 the rod, H4294 and smote H5221 the waters H4325 that were in the river, H2975 in the sight H5869 of Pharaoh, H6547 and in the sight H5869 of his servants; H5650 and all the waters H4325 that were in the river H2975 were turned H2015 to blood. H1818
21 And the fish H1710 that was in the river H2975 died; H4191 and the river H2975 stank, H887 and the Egyptians H4714 could H3201 not drink H8354 of the water H4325 of the river; H2975 and there was blood H1818 throughout all the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
22 And the magicians H2748 of Egypt H4714 did H6213 so with their enchantments: H3909 and Pharaoh's H6547 heart H3820 was hardened, H2388 neither did he hearken H8085 unto them; as the LORD H3068 had said. H1696
23 And Pharaoh H6547 turned H6437 and went H935 into his house, H1004 neither did he set H7896 his heart H3820 to this H2063 also.
24 And all the Egyptians H4714 digged H2658 round about H5439 the river H2975 for water H4325 to drink; H8354 for they could H3201 not drink H8354 of the water H4325 of the river. H2975
25 And seven H7651 days H3117 were fulfilled, H4390 after H310 that the LORD H3068 had smitten H5221 the river. H2975
1 And Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 But Pharaoh will not hearken unto you, and I will 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 Jehovah, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
6 And Moses and Aaron did so; as Jehovah commanded them, so did they.
7 And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
8 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a wonder for you; then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a serpent.
10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so, as Jehovah had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers: and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with their enchantments.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
13 And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.
14 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is stubborn, he refuseth to let the people go.
15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thy hand.
16 And thou shalt say unto him, Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened.
17 Thus saith Jehovah, In this thou shalt know that I am Jehovah: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river.
19 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.
20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21 And the fish that were in the river died; and the river became foul, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 And the magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.
23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he lay even this to heart.
24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that Jehovah had smitten the river.
1 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `See, I have given thee a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother is thy prophet;
2 thou -- thou dost speak all that I command thee, and Aaron thy brother doth speak unto Pharaoh, and he hath sent the sons of Israel out of his land.
3 `And I harden the heart of Pharaoh, and have multiplied My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt,
4 and Pharaoh doth not hearken, and I have put My hand on Egypt, and have brought out My hosts, My people, the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments;
5 and the Egyptians have known that I `am' Jehovah, in My stretching out My hand against Egypt; and I have brought out the sons of Israel from their midst.'
6 And Moses doth -- Aaron also -- as Jehovah commanded them; so have they done;
7 and Moses `is' a son of eighty years, and Aaron `is' a son of eighty and three years, in their speaking unto Pharaoh.
8 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
9 `When Pharaoh speaketh unto you, saying, Give for yourselves a wonder; then thou hast said unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast before Pharaoh -- it becometh a monster.'
10 And Moses goeth in -- Aaron also -- unto Pharaoh, and they do so as Jehovah hath commanded; and Aaron casteth his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it becometh a monster.
11 And Pharaoh also calleth for wise men, and for sorcerers; and the scribes of Egypt, they also, with their flashings, do so,
12 and they cast down each his rod, and they become monsters, and the rod of Aaron swalloweth their rods;
13 and the heart of Pharaoh is strong, and he hath not hearkened unto them, as Jehovah hath spoken.
14 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `The heart of Pharaoh hath been hard, he hath refused to send the people away;
15 go unto Pharaoh in the morning, lo, he is going out to the water, and thou hast stood to meet him by the edge of the River, and the rod which was turned to a serpent thou dost take in thy hand,
16 and thou hast said unto him: Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Send My people away, and they serve Me in the wilderness; and lo, thou hast not hearkened hitherto.
17 `Thus said Jehovah: By this thou knowest that I `am' Jehovah; lo, I am smiting with the rod which `is' in my hand, on the waters which `are' in the River, and they have been turned to blood,
18 and the fish that `are' in the River die, and the River hath stank, and the Egyptians have been wearied of drinking waters from the River.'
19 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand against the waters of Egypt, against their streams, against their rivers, and against their ponds, and against all their collections of waters; and they are blood -- and there hath been blood in all the land of Egypt, both in `vessels of' wood, and in `those of' stone.'
20 And Moses and Aaron do so, as Jehovah hath commanded, and he lifteth up `his hand' with the rod, and smiteth the waters which `are' in the River, before the eyes of Pharaoh, and before the eyes of his servants, and all the waters which `are' in the River are turned to blood,
21 and the fish which `is' in the River hath died, and the River stinketh, and the Egyptians have not been able to drink water from the River; and the blood is in all the land of Egypt.
22 And the scribes of Egypt do so with their flashings, and the heart of Pharaoh is strong, and he hath not hearkened unto them, as Jehovah hath spoken,
23 and Pharaoh turneth and goeth in unto his house, and hath not set his heart even to this;
24 and all the Egyptians seek water round about the river to drink, for they have not been able to drink of the waters of the River.
25 And seven days are completed after Jehovah's smiting the River,
1 And Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made thee God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
3 And I will render Pharaoh's heart obdurate, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 And Pharaoh will not hearken unto you; and I will 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 Jehovah, when I stretch forth my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
6 And Moses and Aaron did as Jehovah had commanded them: so did they.
7 And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
9 When Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying, Do a miracle for yourselves, -- then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy staff and cast [it] before Pharaoh -- it will become a serpent.
10 And Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh, and before his bondmen, and it became a serpent.
11 And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments:
12 they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staves.
13 And Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said.
14 And Jehovah said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened: he refuseth to let the people go.
15 Go unto Pharaoh in the morning -- behold, he will go out unto the water -- and take thy stand by the bank of the river in front of him; and take in thy hand the staff that was turned into a serpent.
16 And say unto him, Jehovah the God of the Hebrews has sent me to thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; but behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened.
17 Thus saith Jehovah: In this shalt thou know that I am Jehovah -- behold, I will smite with the staff that is in my hand upon the water which is in the river, and it shall be turned into blood.
18 And the fish that is in the river shall die; and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water out of the river.
19 And Jehovah said to Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy staff, and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of the Egyptians -- upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, both in [vessels of] wood and in [vessels of] stone.
20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and he lifted up the staff, and smote the waters that were in the river before the eyes of Pharaoh, and before the eyes of his bondmen; and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood.
21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river; and the blood was throughout the land of Egypt.
22 And the scribes of Egypt did so with their sorceries; and Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, neither did he hearken to them, as Jehovah had said.
23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and took not this to heart either.
24 And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
25 And seven days were fulfilled, after Jehovah had smitten the river.
1 Yahweh said to Moses, "Behold, 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, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
3 I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
5 The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch forth my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them."
6 Moses and Aaron did so. As Yahweh commanded them, so they did.
7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
9 "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Perform a miracle!' then you shall tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a serpent.'"
10 Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with their enchantments.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
13 Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.
14 Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he goes out to the water; and you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.
16 You shall tell him, 'Yahweh, 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 haven't listened.
17 Thus says Yahweh, "In this you shall know that I am Yahweh. Behold, I will strike with the rod that is in my hand on the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18 The fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river."'"
19 Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"
20 Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21 The fish that were in the river died; and the river became foul, and the Egyptians couldn't drink water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 The magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.
23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he lay even this to heart.
24 All the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they couldn't drink of the water of the river.
25 Seven days were fulfilled, after Yahweh had struck the river.
1 And the Lord said to Moses, See I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet.
2 Say whatever I give you orders to say: and Aaron your brother will give word to Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go out of his land.
3 And I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, and my signs and wonders will be increased in the land of Egypt.
4 But Pharaoh will not give ear to you, and I will put my hand on Egypt, and take my armies, my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt, after great punishments.
5 And the Egyptians will see that I am the Lord, when my hand is stretched out over Egypt, and I take the children of Israel out from among them.
6 And Moses and Aaron did so: as the Lord gave them orders, so they did.
7 And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they gave the Lord's word to Pharaoh.
8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
9 If Pharaoh says to you, Let me see a wonder: then say to Aaron, Take your rod and put it down on the earth before Pharaoh so that it may become a snake.
10 Then Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and they did as the Lord had said: and Aaron put his rod down on the earth before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a snake.
11 Then Pharaoh sent for the wise men and the wonder-workers, and they, the wonder-workers of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.
12 For every one of them put down his rod on the earth, and they became snakes: but Aaron's rod made a meal of their rods.
13 But Pharaoh's heart was made hard, and he did not give ear to them, as the Lord had said.
14 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh's heart is unchanged; he will not let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning; when he goes out to the water, you will be waiting for him by the edge of the Nile, with the rod which was turned into a snake in your hand;
16 And say to him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, Let my people go so that they may give me worship in the waste land; but up to now you have not given ear to his words.
17 So the Lord says, By this you may be certain that I am the Lord; see, by the touch of this rod in my hand the waters of the Nile will be turned to blood;
18 And the fish in the Nile will come to destruction, and the river will send up a bad smell, and the Egyptians will not be able, for disgust, to make use of the water of the Nile for drinking.
19 And the Lord said, Say to Aaron, Let the rod in your hand be stretched out over the waters of Egypt, and over the rivers and the streams and the pools, and over every stretch of water, so that they may be turned to blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.
20 And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had said; and when his rod had been lifted up and stretched out over the waters of the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, all the water in the Nile was turned to blood;
21 And the fish in the Nile came to destruction, and a bad smell went up from the river, and the Egyptians were not able to make use of the water of the Nile for drinking; and there was blood through all the land of Egypt.
22 And the wonder-workers of Egypt did the same with their secret arts: but Pharaoh's heart was made hard, and he would not give ear to them, as the Lord had said.
23 Then Pharaoh went into his house, and did not take even this to heart.
24 And all the Egyptians made holes round about the Nile to get drinking-water, for they were not able to make use of the Nile water.
25 And seven days went past, after the Lord had put his hand on the Nile.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 7
Commentary on Exodus 7 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Moses' last difficulty (Exodus 6:12, repeated in Exodus 6:30) was removed by God with the words: “ See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet ” (Exodus 7:1). According to Exodus 4:16, Moses was to be a god to Aaron; and in harmony with that, Aaron is here called the prophet of Moses, as being the person who would announce to Pharaoh the revelations of Moses. At the same time Moses was also made a god to Pharaoh; i.e., he was promised divine authority and power over Pharaoh, so that henceforth there was no more necessity for him to be afraid of the king of Egypt, but the latter, notwithstanding all resistance, would eventually bow before him. Moses was a god to Aaron as the revealer of the divine will, and to Pharaoh as the executor of that will. - In Exodus 7:2-5 God repeats in a still more emphatic form His assurance, that notwithstanding the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, He would bring His people Israel out of Egypt. ושׁלּח (Exodus 7:2) does not mean ut dimittat or mittat ( Vulg. Ros.; “ that he send, ” Eng. ver.); but ו is vav consec. perf., “ and so he will send .” On Exodus 7:3 cf. Exodus 4:21.
את־ידי ונתתּי : “I will lay My hand on Egypt,” i.e., smite Egypt, “and bring out My armies, My people, the children of Israel.” צבאות (armies) is used of Israel, with reference to its leaving Egypt equipped (Exodus 13:18) and organized as an army according to the tribes (cf. Exodus 6:26 and Exodus 12:51 with Num 1 and 2), to contend for the cause of the Lord, and fight the battles of Jehovah. In this respect the Israelites were called the hosts of Jehovah. The calling of Moses and Aaron was now concluded. Exodus 7:6 and Exodus 7:7 pave the way for the account of their performance of the duties consequent upon their call.
The negotiations of Moses and Aaron as messengers of Jehovah with the king of Egypt, concerning the departure of Israel from his land, commenced with a sign, by which the messengers of God attested their divine mission in the presence of Pharaoh (Exodus 7:8-13), and concluded with the announcement of the last blow that God would inflict upon the hardened king (Exodus 11:1-10). The centre of these negotiations, or rather the main point of this lengthened section, which is closely connected throughout, and formally rounded off by Exodus 11:9-10 into an inward unity, is found in the nine plagues which the messengers of Jehovah brought upon Pharaoh and his kingdom at the command of Jehovah, to bend the defiant spirit of the king, and induce him to let Israel go out of the land and serve their God. If we carefully examine the account of these nine penal miracles, we shall find that they are arranged in three groups of three plagues each. For the first and second, the fourth and fifth, and the seventh and eighth were announced beforehand by Moses to the king (Exodus 7:15; Exodus 8:1, Exodus 8:20; Exodus 9:1, Exodus 9:13; Exodus 10:1), whilst the third, sixth, and ninth were sent without any such announcement (Exodus 8:16; Exodus 9:8; Exodus 10:21). Again, the first, fourth, and seventh were announced to Pharaoh in the morning, and the first and fourth by the side of the Nile (Exodus 7:15; Exodus 8:20), both of them being connected with the overflowing of the river; whilst the place of announcement is not mentioned in the case of the seventh (the hail, Exodus 9:13), because hail, as coming from heaven, was not connected with any particular locality. This grouping is not a merely external arrangement, adopted by the writer for the sake of greater distinctness, but is founded in the facts themselves, and the effect which God intended the plagues to produce, as we may gather from these circumstances - that the Egyptian magicians, who had imitated the first plagues, were put to shame with their arts by the third, and were compelled to see in it the finger of God (Exodus 8:19), - that they were smitten themselves by the sixth, and were unable to stand before Moses (Exodus 9:11), - and that after the ninth, Pharaoh broke off all further negotiation with Moses and Aaron (Exodus 10:28-29). The last plague, commonly known as the tenth, which Moses also announced to the king before his departure (Exodus 11:4.), differed from the nine former ones both in purpose and form. It was the first beginning of the judgment that was coming upon the hardened king, and was inflicted directly by God Himself, for Jehovah “went out through the midst of Egypt, and smote the first-born of the Egyptians both of man and beast” (Exodus 11:4; Exodus 12:29); whereas seven of the previous plagues were brought by Moses and Aaron, and of the two that are not expressly said to have been brought by them, one, that of the dog-flies, was simply sent by Jehovah (Exodus 8:21, Exodus 8:24), and the other, the murrain of beasts, simply came from His hand (Exodus 9:3, Exodus 9:6). The last blow ( נגע Exodus 11:1), which brought about the release of Israel, was also distinguished from the nine plagues, as the direct judgment of God, by the fact that it was not effected through the medium of any natural occurrence, as was the case with all the others, which were based upon the natural phenomena of Egypt, and became signs and wonders through their vast excess above the natural measure of such natural occurrences and their supernatural accumulation, blow after blow following one another in less than a year, and also through the peculiar circumstances under which they were brought about. In this respect also the triple division is unmistakeable. The first three plagues covered the whole land, and fell upon the Israelites as well as the Egyptians; with the fourth the separation commenced between Egyptians and Israelites, so that only the Egyptians suffered from the last six, the Israelites in Goshen being entirely exempted. The last three, again, were distinguished from the others by the fact, that they were far more dreadful than any of the previous ones, and bore visible marks of being the forerunners of the judgment which would inevitably fall upon Pharaoh, if he continued his opposition to the will of the Almighty God.
In this graduated series of plagues, the judgment of hardening was inflicted upon Pharaoh in the manner explained above. In the first three plagues God showed him, that He, the God of Israel, was Jehovah (Exodus 7:17), i.e., that He ruled as Lord and King over the occurrences and powers of nature, which the Egyptians for the most part honoured as divine; and before His power the magicians of Egypt with their secret arts were put to shame. These three wonders made no impression upon the king. The plague of frogs, indeed, became so troublesome to him, that he begged Moses and Aaron to intercede with their God to deliver him from them, and promised to let the people go (Exodus 8:8). But as soon as they were taken away, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to the messengers of God. Of the three following plagues, the first (i.e., the fourth in the entire series), viz., the plague of swarming creatures or dog-flies, with which the distinction between the Egyptians and Israelites commenced, proving to Pharaoh that the God of Israel was Jehovah in the midst of the land (Exodus 8:22), made such an impression upon the hardened king, that he promised to allow the Israelites to sacrifice to their God, first of all in the land, and when Moses refused this condition, even outside the land, if they would not go far away, and Moses and Aaron would pray to God for him, that this plague might be taken away by God from him and from his people (Exodus 8:25.). But this concession was only forced out of him by suffering; so that as soon as the plague ceased he withdrew it again, and his hard heart was not changed by the two following plagues. Hence still heavier plagues were sent, and he had to learn from the last three that there was no god in the whole earth like Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews (Hebrews 9:14). The terrible character of these last plagues so affected the proud heart of Pharaoh, that twice he acknowledged he had sinned (Exodus 9:27; Exodus 10:16), and gave a promise that he would let the Israelites go, restricting his promise first of all to the men, and then including their families also (Exodus 10:11, Exodus 10:24). But when this plague was withdrawn, he resumed his old sinful defiance once more (Exodus 9:34-35; Exodus 10:20), and finally was altogether hardened, and so enraged at Moses persisting in his demand that they should take their flocks as well, that he drove away the messengers of Jehovah and broke off all further negotiations, with the threat that he would kill them if ever they came into his presence again (Exodus 10:28-29).
Exodus 7:8-13
Attestation of the Divine Mission of Moses and Aaron. - By Jehovah 's directions Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and proved by a miracle ( מופת Exodus 4:21) that they were the messengers of the God of the Hebrews. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh, and it became a serpent. Aaron's staff as no other than the wondrous staff of Moses (Exodus 4:2-4). This is perfectly obvious from a comparison of Exodus 7:15 and Exodus 7:17 with Exodus 7:19 and Exodus 7:20. If Moses was directed, according to Exodus 7:15., to go before Pharaoh with his rod which had been turned into a serpent, and to announce to him that he would smite the water of the Nile with the staff in his hand and turn it into blood, and then, according to Exodus 7:19., this miracle was carried out by Aaron taking his staff and stretching out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the staff which Aaron held over the water cannot have been any other than the staff of Moses which had been turned into a serpent. Consequently we must also understand by the staff of Aaron, which was thrown down before Pharaoh and became a serpent, the same wondrous staff of Moses, and attribute the expression “thy (i.e., Aaron's) staff” to the brevity of the account, i.e., to the fact that the writer restricted himself to the leading facts, and passed over such subordinate incidents as that Moses gave his staff to Aaron for him to work the miracle. For the same reason he has not even mentioned that Moses spoke to Pharaoh by Aaron, or what he said, although in Exodus 7:13 he states that Pharaoh did not hearken unto them, i.e., to their message or their words. The serpent, into which the staff was changed, is not called נחשׁ here, as in Exodus 7:15 and Exodus 4:3, but תּנּיּן (lxx δράκων , dragon), a general term for snake-like animals. This difference does not show that there were two distinct records, but may be explained on the ground that the miracle performed before Pharaoh had a different signification from that which attested the divine mission of Moses in the presence of his people. The miraculous sign mentioned here is distinctly related to the art of snake-charming, which was carried to such an extent by the Psylli in ancient Egypt (cf. Bochart, and Hengstenberg, Egypt and Moses , pp. 98ff. transl.). It is probable that the Israelites in Egypt gave the name תּנּיּן (Eng. ver. dragon ), which occurs in Deuteronomy 32:33 and Psalms 91:13 as a parallel to פּתן (Eng. ver. asp ), to the snake with which the Egyptian charmers generally performed their tricks, the Hayeh of the Arabs. What the magi and conjurers of Egypt boasted that they could perform by their secret or magical arts, Moses was to effect in reality in Pharaoh's presence, and thus manifest himself to the king as Elohim (Exodus 7:1), i.e., as endowed with divine authority and power. All that is related of the Psylli of modern times is, that they understand the art of turning snakes into sticks, or of compelling them to become rigid and apparently dead (for examples see Hengstenberg); but who can tell what the ancient Psylli may have been able to effect, or may have pretended to effect, at a time when the demoniacal power of heathenism existed in its unbroken force? The magicians summoned by Pharaoh also turned their sticks into snakes (Exodus 7:12); a fact which naturally excites the suspicion that the sticks themselves were only rigid snakes, though, with our very limited acquaintance with the dark domain of heathen conjuring, the possibility of their working “lying wonders after the working of Satan,” i.e., supernatural things (2 Thessalonians 2:9), cannot be absolutely denied. The words, “They also, the chartummim of Egypt, did in like manner with their enchantments,” are undoubtedly based upon the assumption, that the conjurers of Egypt not only pretended to possess the art of turning snakes into sticks, but of turning sticks into snakes as well, so that in the persons of the conjurers Pharaoh summoned the might of the gods of Egypt to oppose the might of Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews. For these magicians, whom the Apostle Paul calls Jannes and Jambres , according to the Jewish tradition (2 Timothy 3:8), were not common jugglers, but חכמים “wise men,” men educated in human and divine wisdom, and חרטתּים , ἱερογραμματεῖς , belonging to the priestly caste (Genesis 41:8); so that the power of their gods was manifested in their secret arts ( להטים from להט to conceal, to act secretly, like לטים in Exodus 7:22 from לוּט ), and in the defeat of their enchantments by Moses the gods of Egypt were overcome by Jehovah (Exodus 12:12). The supremacy of Jehovah over the demoniacal powers of Egypt manifested itself in the very first miraculous sign, in the fact that Aaron's staff swallowed those of the magicians; though this miracle made no impression upon Pharaoh (Exodus 7:13).
When Pharaoh hardened his heart against the first sign, notwithstanding the fact that it displayed the supremacy of the messengers of Jehovah over the might of the Egyptian conjurers and their gods, and refused to let the people of Israel go; Moses and Aaron were empowered by God to force the release of Israel from the obdurate king by a series of penal miracles. These מפתים were not purely supernatural wonders, or altogether unknown to the Egyptians, but were land-plagues with which Egypt was occasionally visited, and were raised into miraculous deeds of the Almighty God, by the fact that they burst upon the land one after another at an unusual time of the year, in unwonted force, and in close succession. These plagues were selected by God as miraculous signs, because He intended to prove thereby to the king and his servants, that He, Jehovah, was the Lord in the land, and ruled over the powers of nature with unrestricted freedom and omnipotence. For this reason God not only caused them to burst suddenly upon the land according to His word, and then as suddenly to disappear according to His omnipotent will, but caused them to be produced by Moses and Aaron and disappear again at their word and prayer, that Pharaoh might learn that these men were appointed by Him as His messengers, and were endowed by Him with divine power for the accomplishment of His will.
Exodus 7:14-21
The Water of the Nile Turned into Blood. - In the morning, when Pharaoh went to the Nile, Moses took his staff at the command of God; went up to him on the bank of the river, with the demand of Jehovah that he would let His people Israel go; and because hitherto ( עד־כּה ) he had not obeyed, announced this first plague, which Aaron immediately brought to pass. Both time and place are of significance here. Pharaoh went out in the morning to the Nile (Exodus 7:15; Exodus 8:20), not merely to take a refreshing walk, or to bathe in the river, or to see how high the water had risen, but without doubt to present his daily worship to the Nile, which was honoured by the Egyptians as their supreme deity (vid., Exodus 2:5). At this very moment the will of God with regard to Israel was declared to him; and for his refusal to comply with the will of the Lord as thus revealed to him, the smiting of the Nile with the staff made known to him the fact, that the God of the Hebrews was the true God, and possessed the power to turn the fertilizing water of this object of their highest worship into blood. The changing of the water into blood is to be interpreted in the same sense as in Joel 3:4, where the moon is said to be turned into blood; that is to say, not as a chemical change into real blood, but as a change in the colour, which caused it to assume the appearance of blood (2 Kings 3:22). According to the statements of many travellers, the Nile water changes its colour when the water is lowest, assumes first of all a greenish hue and is almost undrinkable, and then, while it is rising, becomes as red as ochre, when it is more wholesome again. The causes of this change have not been sufficiently investigated. The reddening of the water is attributed by many to the red earth, which the river brings down from Sennaar (cf. Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books of Moses , pp. 104ff. transl.; Laborde, comment. p. 28); but Ehrenberg came to the conclusion, after microscopical examinations, that it was caused by cryptogamic plants and infusoria. This natural phenomenon was here intensified into a miracle, not only by the fact that the change took place immediately in all the branches of the river at Moses' word and through the smiting of the Nile, but even more by a chemical change in the water, which caused the fishes to die, the stream to stink, and, what seems to indicate putrefaction, the water to become undrinkable; whereas, according to the accounts of travellers, which certainly do not quite agree with one another, and are not entirely trustworthy, the Nile water becomes more drinkable as soon as the natural reddening beings. The change in the water extended to “ the streams, ” or different arms of the Nile; “ the rivers, ” or Nile canals; “ the ponds, ” or large standing lakes formed by the Nile; and all “ the pools of water, ” lit., every collection of their waters, i.e., all the other standing lakes and ponds, left by the overflowings of the Nile, with the water of which those who lived at a distance from the river had to content themselves. “ So that there was blood in all the land of Egypt, both in the wood and in the stone; ” i.e., in the vessels of wood and stone, in which the water taken from the Nile and its branches was kept for daily use. The reference is not merely to the earthen vessels used for filtering and cleansing the water, but to every vessel into which water had been put. The “stone” vessels were the stone reservoirs built up at the corners of the streets and in other places, where fresh water was kept for the poor (cf. Oedmann's verm. Samml. p. 133). The meaning of this supplementary clause is not that even the water which was in these vessels previous to the smiting of the river was turned into blood, in which Kurtz perceives “the most miraculous part of the whole miracle;” for in that case the “wood and stone” would have been mentioned immediately after the “gatherings of the waters;” but simply that there was no more water to put into these vessels that was not changed into blood. The death of the fishes was a sign, that the smiting had taken away from the river its life-sustaining power, and that its red hue was intended to depict before the eyes of the Egyptians all the terrors of death; but we are not to suppose that there was any reference to the innocent blood which the Egyptians had poured into the river through the drowning of the Hebrew boys, or to their own guilty blood which was afterwards to be shed.
Exodus 7:22-25
This miracle was also imitated by the magicians. The question, where they got any water that was still unchanged, is not answered in the biblical text. Kurtz is of opinion that they took spring water for the purpose; but he has overlooked the fact, that if spring water was still to be had, there would be no necessity for the Egyptians to dig wells for the purpose of finding drinkable water. The supposition that the magicians did not try their arts till the miracle wrought by Aaron had passed away, is hardly reconcilable with the text, which places the return of Pharaoh to his house after the work of the magicians. For it can neither be assumed, that the miracle wrought by the messengers of Jehovah lasted only a few hours, so that Pharaoh was able to wait by the Nile till it was over, since in that case the Egyptians would not have thought it necessary to dig wells; nor can it be regarded as probable, that after the miracle was over, and the plague had ceased, the magicians began to imitate it for the purpose of showing the king that they could do the same, and that it was after this that the king went to his house without paying any need to the miracle. We must therefore follow the analogy of Exodus 9:25 as compared with Exodus 10:5, and not press the expression, “ every collection of water” (Exodus 7:19), so as to infer that there was no Nile water at all, not even what had been taken away before the smiting of the river, that was not changed, but rather conclude that the magicians tried their arts upon water that was already drawn, for the purpose of neutralizing the effect of the plague as soon as it had been produced. The fact that the clause, “Pharaoh's heart was hardened,” is linked with the previous clause, “the magicians did so, etc.,” by a vav consecutive , unquestionably implies that the imitation of the miracle by the magicians contributed to the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. The expression, “ to this also, ” in Exodus 7:23, points back to the first miraculous sign in Exodus 7:10. This plague was keenly felt by the Egyptians; for the Nile contains the only good drinking water, and its excellence is unanimously attested by both ancient and modern writers (Hengstenberg ut sup. pp. 108, 109, transl.). As they could not drink of the water of the river from their loathing at its stench (Exodus 7:18), they were obliged to dig round about the river for water to drink (Exodus 7:24). From this it is evident that the plague lasted a considerable time; according to Exodus 7:25, apparently seven days. At least this is the most natural interpretation of the words, “ and seven days were fulfilled after that Jehovah had smitten the river .” It is true, there is still the possibility that this verse may be connected with the following one, “ when seven days were fulfilled...Jehovah said to Moses .” But this is not probable; for the time which intervened between the plagues is not stated anywhere else, nor is the expression, “Jehovah said,” with which the plagues are introduced, connected in any other instance with what precedes. The narrative leaves it quite undecided how rapidly the plagues succeeded one another. On the supposition that the changing of the Nile water took place at the time when the river began to rise, and when the reddening generally occurs, many expositors fix upon the month of June or July for the commencement of the plague; in which case all the plagues down to the death of the first-born, which occurred in the night of the 14th Abib, i.e., about the middle of April, would be confined to the space of about nine months. But this conjecture is a very uncertain one, and all that is tolerably sure is, that the seventh plague (the hail) occurred in February (vid., Exodus 9:31-32), and there were (not three weeks, but) eight weeks therefore, or about two months, between the seventh and tenth plagues; so that between each of the last three there would be an interval of fourteen or twenty days. And if we suppose that there was a similar interval in the case of all the others, the first plague would take place in September or October-that is to say, after the yearly overflow of the Nile, which lasts from June to September.