Exodus 7–12

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. ¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘The Lord says, “Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me.

²“ ‘ “If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. ³The Nile River will be full of frogs. They will come up into your palace. You will have frogs in your bedroom and on your bed. They will be in the homes of your officials and your people. They will be in your ovens and in your bread pans. ⁴The frogs will be on you, your people and all of your officials.” ’ ”

⁵Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Tell Aaron, ‘Reach your hand out. Hold your staff over the streams, waterways and ponds. Make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”

⁶So Aaron reached his hand out over the waters of Egypt. The frogs came up and covered the land. ⁷But the magicians did the same things by doing their magic tricks. They also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. He said to them, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I’ll let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹Moses said to Pharaoh, “You can have the honor of setting the time for me to pray. I will pray for you, your officials and your people. I’ll pray that the frogs will leave you and your homes. The only frogs left will be the ones in the Nile River.”

¹⁰“Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

Moses replied, “It will happen just as you say. Then you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹The frogs will leave you and your houses. They will leave your officials and your people. They will remain only in the Nile River.”

¹²Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh. Then Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. ¹³And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, courtyards and fields. ¹⁴The Egyptians piled them up. The land smelled very bad because of them.

¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that the frogs were dead, his heart became stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Gnats

¹⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Tell Aaron, ‘Reach your wooden staff out. Strike the dust on the ground with it.’ Then all over the land of Egypt the dust will turn into gnats.”

¹⁷So they did it. Aaron reached out the staff that was in his hand. He struck the dust on the ground with it. The dust all over the land of Egypt turned into gnats. They landed on people and animals alike.

¹⁸The magicians tried to produce gnats by doing their magic tricks. But they couldn’t. The gnats stayed on people and animals alike.

¹⁹The magicians said to Pharaoh, “God’s powerful finger has done this.” But Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn. He wouldn’t listen, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Flies

²⁰Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Get up early in the morning. Talk to Pharaoh as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘The Lord says, “Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me. ²¹If you do not let my people go, I will send large numbers of flies. I will send them on you and your officials. I will send them on your people and into your homes. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies. Even the area where they live will be full of flies.

²²“ ‘ “But on that day I will treat the area of Goshen differently from yours. That is where my people live. There will not be large numbers of flies in Goshen. Then you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. ²³I will treat my people differently from yours. The miraculous sign will take place tomorrow.” ’ ”

²⁴So the Lord did it. Huge numbers of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace. They came into the homes of his officials. All over Egypt the flies destroyed the land.

²⁵Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. He said to them, “Go. Offer sacrifices to your God here in the land.”

²⁶But Moses said, “That wouldn’t be right. The sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God wouldn’t be accepted by the Egyptians because of their beliefs. Suppose we offered sacrifices they couldn’t accept. Then they would throw stones at us and try to kill us. ²⁷We have to take a journey that lasts about three days. We want to go into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, exactly as he commands us.”

²⁸Pharaoh said, “I will let you and your people go to offer sacrifices. You can offer them to the Lord your God in the desert. But you must not go very far. And pray for me.”

²⁹Moses replied, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord. Tomorrow the flies will leave you. They will also leave your officials and your people. Just be sure you don’t try to trick us again. Let the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ³¹And the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh, his officials and his people. Not one fly remained. ³²But Pharaoh’s heart became stubborn that time also. He wouldn’t let the people go.

The Plague on Livestock

9Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Go to Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, “Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me. ²Do not refuse to let them go. Do not keep holding them back.

³“ ‘ “If you refuse, my powerful hand will bring a terrible plague on you. I will strike your livestock in the fields. I will strike your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. ⁴But I will treat Israel’s livestock differently from yours. No animal that belongs to the people of Israel will die.” ’ ”

⁵The Lord set a time for the plague. He said, “Tomorrow I will send it on the land.” ⁶So the next day the Lord sent it. All of the livestock of the Egyptians died. But not one animal that belonged to the Israelites died.

⁷Pharaoh sent people to find out what had happened. They discovered that not even one animal that belonged to the Israelites had died. But his heart was still very stubborn. He wouldn’t let the people go.

The Plague of Boils

⁸Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, “Take handfuls of ashes from a furnace. Have Moses toss them into the air in front of Pharaoh. ⁹The ashes will turn into fine dust all over the whole land of Egypt. Then boils will break out on people and animals all over the land. Their bodies will be covered with them.”

¹⁰So Moses and Aaron took ashes from a furnace and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses tossed them into the air. Then boils broke out on people and animals alike. ¹¹The bodies of all of the Egyptians were covered with boils. The magicians couldn’t stand in front of Moses because of the…