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

8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh. It will become a serpent.’ ”d 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. 11 But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicianse of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices.f 12 Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. 13 However, Pharaoh’s heart was hard,g and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

THE FIRST PLAGUE: WATER TURNED TO BLOOD

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard: He refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning. When you see him walking out to the water, stand ready to meet him by the bank of the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake.h 16 Tell him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let my people go, so that they may worship* me in the wilderness. But so far you have not listened.