“I Will Stretch Out My Hand”

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “aSee, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

2 “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 that I may bmultiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.

4 “When aPharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bbring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by cgreat judgments.

5 “aThe Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I bstretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.”

6 So Moses and Aaron did it; aas the Lord commanded them, thus they did.

7 Moses was aeighty years old and Aaron 1eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Rod Becomes a Serpent

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, that it may become a serpent.’ ”

10 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and thus they did just as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and 1his servants, and it abecame a serpent.

11 Then Pharaoh also acalled for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the 1bmagicians of Egypt, did 2the same with ctheir secret arts.

12 For each one threw down his staff and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

13 Yet aPharaoh’s heart was 1hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Water Is Turned to Blood

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 1as ahe is going out to the water, and station 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 “aYou shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “bLet My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.”

17 ‘Thus says the Lord, “aBy this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I will strike 1the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and bit will be turned to blood.

18 “aThe fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will 1become foul, and the Egyptians will 2bfind difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.” ’ ”

19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and astretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their 1streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’ ”

20 So Moses and Aaron did even 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 to blood.

21 The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile 1became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.

22 aBut the 1magicians of Egypt did 2the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was 3hardened, and he did not listen to them, 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, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile.

25 Seven days 1passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

Chapter 8

Frogs over the Land

1 1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “aLet My people go, that they may serve Me.

2 “But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs.

3 “The Nile will aswarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls.

4 “So the frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.” ’ ”

5 1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘aStretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the 2streams and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”

6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the 1afrogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

7 aThe 1magicians did 2the same with their secret arts, 3making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

8 Then Pharaoh acalled for Moses and Aaron and said, “bEntreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and cI will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “1The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be 2destroyed from you and your houses, that they may be left only in the Nile?”

10 Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is ano one like the Lord our God.

11 “The afrogs will depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”

12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and aMoses cried to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had 1inflicted upon Pharaoh.

13 The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courts, and the fields.

14 So they piled them in heaps, and the land 1became foul.

15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he 1hardened his heart and adid not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Flies

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become 1gnats through all the land of Egypt.’ ”

17 They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were 1gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became 1agnats through all the land of Egypt.

18 The 1magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth 2gnats, but athey could not; so there were 2gnats on man and beast.

19 Then the 1magicians said to Pharaoh, “aThis is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was 2hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

20 Now the Lord said to Moses, “aRise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, 1as bhe comes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “cLet My people go, that they may serve Me.

21 “For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they dwell.

22 “aBut on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are 1living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that 2bI, the Lord, am in the midst of the land.

23 “I will 1put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.” ’ ”

24 Then the Lord did so. And there came 1great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants and the land was alaid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

25 Pharaoh acalled for Moses and Aaron and said, “bGo, sacrifice to your God within the land.”

26 But Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to the Lord our God 1what is aan abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice 1what is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us?

27 “We must go a athree days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He 1commands us.”

28 Pharaoh said, “aI will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. bMake supplication for me.”

29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you, and I shall make supplication to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh adeal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

30 So aMoses went out from Pharaoh and made supplication to the Lord.

31 The Lord did 1as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people; not one remained.

32 But Pharaoh 1hardened his heart this time also, and ahe did not let the people go.

Chapter 9

Egyptian Cattle Die

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “aLet My people go, that they may serve Me.

2 “For aif you refuse to let them go and 1continue to hold them,

3 behold, athe hand of the Lord 1will come with a very severe pestilence on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks.

4 “aBut the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that bnothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.” ’ ”

5 The Lord set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”

6 So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and aall the livestock of Egypt died; bbut of the livestock of the sons of Israel, not one died.

7 Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not even one of the livestock of Israel dead. But athe heart of Pharaoh was 1hardened, and he did not let the people go.

The Plague of Boils

8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.

9 “It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will become aboils breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt.”

10 So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out …