1Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
6Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. 7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake
8The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”
10So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Blood
14Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. 17This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. 18The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’ ”
19The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels7:19 Or even on their idols of wood and stone.”
20Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. 21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.
The Plague of Frogs
25Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.
亞倫和摩西面見法老
1耶和華對摩西說：「我要使你在法老面前像上帝一樣，你哥哥亞倫是你的發言人。 2你要傳達我吩咐你的一切話，你哥哥亞倫要求法老讓以色列人離開他的國家。 3可是，我要使法老的心剛硬，雖然我在埃及行許多神蹟奇事， 4他仍無動於衷。那時，我必伸手重重地懲罰埃及，然後領我大隊的以色列子民離開埃及。 5我伸手攻擊他們，把以色列人帶出埃及之時，埃及人就會知道我是耶和華。」 6摩西和亞倫便遵命而行。 7他們去見法老的時候，摩西八十歲，亞倫八十三歲。
8耶和華對摩西和亞倫說： 9「倘若法老要你們行神蹟給他看，你就吩咐亞倫把手杖扔在法老面前，使杖變作蛇。」
10摩西和亞倫照耶和華的吩咐來到法老面前。亞倫把手杖扔在法老和他的臣僕面前，杖就變作蛇。 11法老召智者和巫師前來，這些人是埃及的術士，他們也用邪術如法炮製。 12各人將自己的手杖扔在地上，杖就變作蛇，但亞倫的杖吞噬了他們的杖。 13法老卻仍然硬著心，不肯聽從摩西和亞倫，正如耶和華所言。
水變血之災
14耶和華對摩西說：「法老非常頑固，不肯放百姓走。 15明天早晨，法老會去尼羅河邊，你去河邊見他，要拿著曾變成蛇的手杖。 16你要對他說，『希伯來人的上帝耶和華差遣我來告訴你，要讓祂的子民到曠野去事奉祂，但到如今你還是不肯。 17所以祂說要用手杖擊打尼羅河水，使河水變成血，好叫你知道祂是耶和華。 18河裡的魚會死，河水會發臭，埃及人不能再喝尼羅河的水。』」
19耶和華對摩西說：「你告訴亞倫，讓他向埃及境內的各江河、溪流、池塘伸杖，使水變成血。埃及境內，包括木頭和石頭器皿中將到處是血。」 20摩西和亞倫就按著耶和華所吩咐的去做，亞倫在法老和他的眾臣僕面前舉杖擊打尼羅河水，河水都變成了血。 21河裡的魚都死了，河水臭得不能飲用。埃及遍地都是血。 22可是，埃及的巫師用邪術同樣使水變成血。法老仍然硬著心，不肯聽從摩西和亞倫的話，正如耶和華所言。 23法老若無其事地轉身回宮去了。 24因為河水不能飲用，埃及人就在尼羅河兩岸掘井取水飲用。
25耶和華擊打河水後，七天過去了。
