Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. Because of my powerful hand, he will let the people of Israel go. Because of my mighty hand, he will drive them out of his country.”

²God continued, “I am the Lord. ³I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the Mighty God. But I did not show them the full meaning of my name, The Lord.

⁴“I also made my covenant with them. I promised to give them the land of Canaan. That is where they lived as outsiders. ⁵Also, I have heard the groans of the Israelites. The Egyptians are keeping them as slaves. But I have remembered my covenant.

⁶“So tell the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord. I will throw off the heavy load the Egyptians have put on your shoulders. I will set you free from being slaves to them. I will reach out my arm and save you with mighty acts when I judge Egypt.

⁷“ ‘I will take you to be my own people. I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God when I throw off the load the Egyptians have put on your shoulders.

⁸“ ‘I will bring you to the land I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I lifted up my hand and promised it to them. The land will belong to you. I am the Lord.’ ”

⁹Moses reported those things to the Israelites. But they didn’t listen to him. That’s because they had lost all hope and had to work very hard.

¹⁰Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹“Go. Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to let the people of Israel leave his country.”

¹²But Moses spoke to the Lord. “The people won’t listen to me,” he said. “So why would Pharaoh listen to me? After all, I don’t speak very well.”

The Family Line of Moses and Aaron

¹³The Lord had spoken to Moses and Aaron. He had talked with them about the Israelites and about Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He had commanded Moses and Aaron to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt.

¹⁴Here were the leaders of the family groups of Reuben, Simeon and Levi.

Reuben was the oldest son of Israel. His sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. Those were the family groups of Reuben.

¹⁵The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul. Shaul was the son of a woman from Canaan. Those were the family groups of Simeon.

¹⁶Here were the names of the sons of Levi that were recorded in their family history. They were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived for 137 years.

¹⁷The sons of Gershon, by their family groups, were Libni and Shimei.

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

¹⁹The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.

Those were the family groups of Levi that were recorded in their family history.

²⁰Amram got married to his father’s sister Jochebed. Aaron and Moses were born in Amram’s family line. Amram lived for 137 years.

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

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

²³Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon. She had Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar by Aaron.

²⁴The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. Those were the family groups of Korah.

²⁵Eleazar, the son of Aaron, married one of the daughters of Putiel. She had Phinehas by Eleazar.

Those were the leaders of the families of Levi that were recorded by their groups.

²⁶The Lord had spoken to that same Aaron and Moses. He had told them, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt like an army on the march.” ²⁷They spoke to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, about bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt. They were that same Moses and Aaron.

Aaron Speaks for Moses

²⁸The Lord had spoken to Moses in Egypt. ²⁹He had told him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, everything I tell you.”

³⁰But Moses said to the Lord, “I don’t speak very well. So why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

7Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have made you like God to Pharaoh. And your brother Aaron will be like a prophet to you. ²You must say everything I command you to say. Then your brother Aaron must tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country.

³“But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn. I will multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt. ⁴In spite of that, he will not listen to you. So I will use my powerful hand against Egypt. When I judge them with mighty acts, I will bring my people Israel out like an army on the march.

⁵“Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. I will reach out my powerful hand against Egypt. I will bring the people of Israel out of it.”

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

Aaron’s Wooden Staff Becomes a Snake

⁸The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. ⁹He said, “Pharaoh will say to you, ‘Do a miracle.’ When he does, speak to Aaron. Tell him, ‘Take your wooden staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh.’ It will turn into a snake.”

¹⁰So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did exactly as the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials. It turned into a snake.

¹¹Then Pharaoh sent for wise men and those who do evil magic. By doing their magic tricks, the Egyptian magicians did the same things Aaron had done. ¹²Each one threw his staff down. Each staff turned into a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed theirs up.

¹³In spite of that, Pharaoh’s heart became stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Nile River Turns Into Blood

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is very stubborn. He refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵In the morning Pharaoh will go down to the water. Go and wait on the bank of the Nile River to meet him. Take in your hand the wooden staff that turned into a snake.

¹⁶“Say to Pharaoh, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you. He says, “Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me in the desert. But up to now you have not listened.”

¹⁷“ ‘The Lord says, “Here is how you will know that I am the Lord. I will strike the water of the Nile River with the staff that is in my hand. The river will turn into blood. ¹⁸The fish in the river will die. The river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.” ’ ”

¹⁹The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Get your staff. Reach your hand out over the waters of Egypt. The streams, waterways, ponds and all of the lakes will turn into blood. There will be blood everywhere in Egypt. It will even be in the wooden buckets and stone jars.’ ”

²⁰Moses and Aaron did exactly as the Lord had commanded them. Aaron held out his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials. He struck the water of the Nile River. And all of the water turned into blood.

²¹The fish in the Nile died. The river smelled so bad the Egyptians couldn’t drink its water. There was blood everywhere in Egypt.

²²But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by doing their magic tricks. So Pharaoh’s heart became stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. ²³Even that miracle didn’t change Pharaoh’s mind. In fact, he turned around and went into his palace.

²⁴All of the Egyptians dug holes near the Nile River to get drinking water. They couldn’t drink water from the river.

The Plague of Frogs

8²⁵Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile River.

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