Exodus 6–7

6TH CHAPTER

¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will show him my power, and he will let my people go. I will show him my power, and he will throw them out of his country.” 

The Lord Tells Moses to Speak to Pharaoh Again

²God spoke to Moses, “I am the Lord. ³I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I didn’t make myself known to them by my name, the Lord. ⁴I even made a promise^ato give them Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners. ⁵Now I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians hold in slavery, and I have remembered my promise. 

⁶“Tell the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under the oppression of the Egyptians, and I will free you from slavery. I will rescue you with my powerful arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷Then I will make you my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians. ⁸I will bring you to the land I solemnly swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your own possession. I am the Lord.’ ” 

⁹Moses reported this to the Israelites. But they would not listen to him because they were so discouraged by their back-breaking work. 

¹⁰Then the Lord spoke to Moses, ¹¹“Go tell Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) to let the Israelites leave his country.” 

¹²But Moses protested to the Lord, “The Israelites wouldn’t listen to me. Why would Pharaoh listen to me? I’m such a poor speaker.” 

¹³The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). He commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. 

Aaron and Moses’ Ancestry—Genesis 46:9–11

¹⁴These were the heads of the families: 

The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 

These were the families descended from Reuben. 

¹⁵The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the families descended from Simeon. 

¹⁶These are the names of the sons of Levi listed in birth order: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. 

¹⁷The sons of Gershon listed by their families were Libni and Shimei. 

¹⁸The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. 

¹⁹The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. 

These were the families descended from Levi listed in birth order. 

²⁰Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed. She gave birth to Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. 

²¹The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 

²²The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 

²³Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon. She gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 

²⁴The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. 

These were the families descended from Korah. 

²⁵Eleazar, son of Aaron, married one of the daughters of Putiel. She gave birth to Phinehas. 

These were the heads of Levite households listed by their families. 

²⁶This was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt in organized family groups.” ²⁷They—this same Moses and Aaron—told Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) to let the Israelites leave Egypt. 

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

²⁸At that time the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt. ²⁹He said to Moses, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) everything I tell you.” 

³⁰But Moses said to the Lord, “Why would Pharaoh listen to me?” 

7TH CHAPTER

¹The Lord answered Moses, “I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron is your prophet. ²Tell your brother Aaron everything I command you, and he must tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave the country. ³But I will make Pharaoh stubborn. Even though I will do many miraculous signs and amazing things in Egypt, ⁴Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will use my power to punish Egypt severely, and I will bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt in organized family groups. ⁵The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I use my power against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of there.” 

⁶Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded them. ⁷Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they talked to Pharaoh. 

⁸The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Give me a sign to prove that God has sent you,’ tell Aaron, ‘Take your shepherd’s staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh,’ and it will become a large snake.” 

¹⁰Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a large snake. ¹¹Then Pharaoh sent for his wise men and sorcerers. These Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells. ¹²Each of them threw his staff down, and they all became large snakes. But Aaron’s staff swallowed theirs. ¹³Yet, Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not listen to them, as the Lord had predicted. 

The First Plague—the Nile River Turns Into Blood

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh is being stubborn. He refuses to let my people go. ¹⁵In the morning meet Pharaoh when he’s on his way to the Nile. Wait for him on the bank of the river. Take along the staff that turned into a snake. ¹⁶Say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to tell you, “Let my people go to worship me in the desert.” So far you have not listened. ¹⁷Here is what the Lord says: This is the way you will recognize that I am the Lord: With this staff in my hand, I’m going to strike the Nile, and the water will turn into blood. ¹⁸The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’ ” 

¹⁹The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—its rivers, canals, ponds, and all its reservoirs—so that they turn into blood. There will be blood everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden and stone containers.’ ” 

²⁰Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded. In front of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised his staff and struck the Nile. All the water in the river turned into blood. ²¹The fish in the Nile died, and it smelled so bad that the Egyptians couldn’t drink any water from the river. There was blood everywhere in Egypt. 

²²But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells. So Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had predicted. ²³Pharaoh turned and went back to his palace. He dismissed the entire matter from his mind. 

²⁴All the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink because they couldn’t drink any of the water from the river. 

²⁵Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.