Common English Bible CEB
English Standard Version ESV
1 The LORD said to Moses, "See, I've made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
1
And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.
2 You will say everything that I command you, and your brother Aaron will tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites out of his land.
2
You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.
3 But I'll make Pharaoh stubborn, and I'll perform many of my signs and amazing acts in the land of Egypt.
3
But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
4 When Pharaoh refuses to listen to you, then I'll act against Egypt and I'll bring my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in military formation by momentous events of justice.
4
Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.
5 The Egyptians will come to know that I am the LORD, when I act against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them."
5
The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them. ”
6 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded them.
6
Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them.
7 Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh.
7
Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
8
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
9 "When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do one of your amazing acts,' then say to Aaron, ‘Take your shepherd's rod and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will turn into a cobra.'"
9
“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle, ’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent. ’”
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw down his shepherd's rod in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it turned into a cobra.
10
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh called together his wise men and wizards, and Egypt's religious experts did the same thing by using their secret knowledge.
11
Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.
12 Each one threw down his rod, and they turned into cobras. But then Aaron's rod swallowed up each of their rods.
12
For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
13 However, Pharaoh remained stubborn. He wouldn't listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
13
Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh is stubborn. He still refuses to let the people go.
14
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning. As he is going out to the water, make sure you stand at the bank of the Nile River so you will run into him. Bring along the shepherd's rod that turned into a snake.
15
Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent.
16 Say to him, The LORD, the Hebrews' God, has sent me to you with this message: Let my people go so that they can worship me in the desert. Up to now you still haven't listened.
16
And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. ” But so far, you have not obeyed.
17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. I'm now going to hit the water of the Nile River with this rod in my hand, and it will turn into blood.
17
Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.
18 The fish in the Nile are going to die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians won't be able to drink water from the Nile."
18
The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile. ”’”
19 The LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Take your shepherd's rod and stretch out your hand over Egypt's waters—over their rivers, their canals, their marshes, and all their bodies of water—so that they turn into blood. There will be blood all over the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.'"
19
And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone. ’”
20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded. He raised the shepherd's rod and hit the water in the Nile in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.
20
Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.
21 The fish in the Nile died, and the Nile began to stink so that the Egyptians couldn't drink water from the Nile. There was blood all over the land of Egypt.
21
And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 But the Egyptian religious experts did the same thing with their secret knowledge. As a result, Pharaoh remained stubborn, and he wouldn't listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
22
But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
23 Pharaoh turned and went back to his palace. He wasn't impressed even by this.
23
Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.
24 Meanwhile, all the Egyptians had to dig for drinking water along the banks of the Nile River, because they couldn't drink the water of the Nile itself.
24
And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
25 Seven days went by after the LORD had struck the Nile River.
25
Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025