And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I have appointed thee the God of Pharao: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen: Ecce constitui te Deum Pharaonis: et Aaron frater tuus erit propheta tuus.

And the Lord said to Moses, It is my will that thou shouldst be a divine oracle to Pharao, with thy brother for spokesman;

Thou shalt speak to him all that I command thee; and he shall speak to Pharao, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

Tu loqueris ei omnia quæ mando tibi: et ille loquetur ad Pharaonem, ut dimittat filios Israël de terra sua.

Aaron will receive my commands from thee, and repeat them to him, bidding him let the Israelites depart from his country;

But I shall harden his heart, and shall multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,

Sed ego indurabo cor ejus, et multiplicabo signa et ostenta mea in terra Ægypti,

but I, meanwhile, will harden Pharao’s heart. Many signs, many portents will I give in this land of Egypt,

And he will not hear you: and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and will bring forth my army and my people the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, by very great judgments.

et non audiet vos: immittamque manum meam super Ægyptum, et educam exercitum et populum meum filios Israël de terra Ægypti per judicia maxima.

and still he will not listen. Then Egypt shall feel the weight of my hand, and I will deliver the Israelites, my army, my people, out of Egypt, with signal acts of redress.

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, who have stretched forth my hand upon Egypt, and have brought forth the children of Israel out of the midst of them.

Et scient Ægyptii quia ego sum Dominus qui extenderim manum meam super Ægyptum, et eduxerim filios Israël de medio eorum.

All Egypt shall know that it was I, the Lord, who raised my hand against it, and brought out the sons of Israel from its midst.

And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded: so did they.

Fecit itaque Moyses et Aaron sicut præceperat Dominus: ita egerunt.

This command of the Lord was faithfully carried out by Moses and Aaron; they did all he bade them do.

And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharao.

Erat autem Moyses octoginta annorum, et Aaron octoginta trium, quando locuti sunt ad Pharaonem.

Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when they gave Pharao their message.

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen et Aaron:

And now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

When Pharao shall say to you, Shew signs: thou shalt say to Aaron: Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharao, and it shall be turned into a serpent.

Cum dixerit vobis Pharao, Ostendite signa: dices ad Aaron: Tolle virgam tuam, et projice eam coram Pharaone, ac vertetur in colubrum.

When Pharao asks you to shew him signs of your mission, thou, Moses, shalt bid thy brother take up his staff and cast it down in Pharao’s presence; it will turn into a serpent.

So Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharao, and did as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron took the rod before Pharao, and his servants, and it was turned into a serpent.

Ingressi itaque Moyses et Aaron ad Pharaonem, fecerunt sicut præceperat Dominus: tulitque Aaron virgam coram Pharaone et servis ejus, quæ versa est in colubrum.

So Moses and Aaron gained Pharao’s audience and did as the Lord had bidden them; Aaron brought out his staff in the presence of Pharao and his court, and it turned into a serpent.

And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians: and they also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets did in like manner.

Vocavit autem Pharao sapientes et maleficos: et fecerunt etiam ipsi per incantationes ægyptiacas et arcana quædam similiter.

At this, Pharao summoned his diviners and magicians, who, in their turn, uttered secret spells in the Egyptian language and did the like;

And they every one cast down their rods, and they were turned into serpents: but Aaron’s rod devoured their rods.

Projeceruntque singuli virgas suas, quæ versæ sunt in dracones: sed devoravit virga Aaron virgas eorum.

each man’s staff, when he cast it down, turned into a serpent; but the staff of Aaron devoured them.

And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord had commanded.

Induratumque est cor Pharaonis, et non audivit eos, sicut præceperat Dominus.

Meanwhile, Pharao’s heart was hardened, so that he would not obey the Lord’s will and heed their warning.

And the Lord said to Moses: Pharao’s heart is hardened, he will not let the people go.

Dixit autem Dominus ad Moysen: Ingravatum est cor Pharaonis: non vult dimittere populum.

Then the Lord said to Moses, Pharao’s heart is still obdurate, he does not mean to let my people go.

Go to him in the morning, behold he will go out to the waters: and thou shalt stand to meet him on the bank of the river: and thou shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned into a serpent.

Vade ad eum mane, ecce egredietur ad aquas: et stabis in occursum ejus super ripam fluminis: et virgam quæ conversa est in draconem, tolles in manu tua.

Betake thyself to him to-morrow morning; thou wilt find that he is walking by the water side, and there on the bank of the river, thou shalt meet him. Thou wilt be carrying the staff which turned into a serpent,

And thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to thee, saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in the desert: and hitherto thou wouldst not hear.

Dicesque ad eum: Dominus Deus Hebræorum misit me ad te, dicens: Dimitte populum meum ut sacrificet mihi in deserto: et usque ad præsens audire noluisti.

and this shall be thy message to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to bid thee let his people go and offer him sacrifices in the desert, and hitherto thou hast refused to listen.

Thus therefore saith the Lord: In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold I will strike with the rod, that is in my hand, the water of the river, and it shall be turned into blood.

Hæc igitur dicit Dominus: In hoc scies quod sim Dominus: ecce percutiam virga, quæ in manu mea est, aquam fluminis, et vertetur in sanguinem.

And now the Lord has a new message for thee, to convince thee that he is indeed the Lord. When I strike the water of the river with this staff I carry, it will turn into blood;

And the fishes that are in the river shall die, and the waters shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted when they drink the water of the river.

Pisces quoque, qui sunt in fluvio, morientur, et computrescent aquæ, et affligentur Ægyptii bibentes aquam fluminis.

the fishes in the river will die, till its waters are full of corruption; it will go hard with the Egyptians if they are for drinking river water.

The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers, and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.

Dixit quoque Dominus ad Moysen: Dic ad Aaron: Tolle virgam tuam, et extende manum tuam super aquas Ægypti, et super fluvios eorum, et rivos ac paludes, et omnes lacus aquarum, ut vertantur in sanguinem: et sit cruor in omni terra Ægypti, tam in ligneis vasis quam in saxeis.

Then the Lord gave Moses a message for Aaron, Take up thy staff, and stretch thy hand out over the waters of Egypt; all their rivers and channels and marshes and pools of water. All must turn into blood; blood in every bucket and pitcher, all over Egypt.

And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded: and lifting up the rod he struck the water of the river before Pharao and his servants: and it was turned into blood.

Feceruntque Moyses et Aaron sicut præceperat Dominus: et elevans virgam percussit aquam fluminis coram Pharaone et servis ejus: quæ versa est in sanguinem.

So Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had bidden them; Aaron lifted up his staff and struck the waters of the river in the presence of Pharao and his court, and the river turned to blood.

And the fishes that were in the river died: and the river corrupted, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river, and there was blood in all the land of Egypt.

Et pisces, qui erant in flumine, mortui sunt: computruitque fluvius, et non poterant Ægyptii bibere aquam fluminis, et fuit sanguis in tota terra Ægypti.

All the fishes in the river died, and its waters stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink river water any longer, and there was blood all over the land of Egypt.

And the magicians of the Egyptians with their enchantments did in like manner: and Pharao’s heart was hardened, neither did he hear them, as the Lord had commanded.

Feceruntque similiter malefici Ægyptiorum incantationibus suis: et induratum est cor Pharaonis, nec audivit eos, sicut præceperat Dominus.

But the Egyptian magicians did as much with spells of their own; and Pharao’s heart was still hardened, still he would not obey the Lord’s will and heed their warning.

And he turned himself away and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to it this time also.

Avertitque se, et ingressus est domum suam, nec apposuit cor etiam hac vice.

He turned away and went home, paying no more attention to them than before.

And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink: for they could not drink of the water of the river.

Foderunt autem omnes Ægyptii per circuitum fluminis aquam ut biberent: non enim poterant bibere de aqua fluminis.

Meanwhile, all the Egyptians had to dig wells round about the banks, since they could not drink any water from the river itself.

And seven days were fully ended, after that the Lord struck the river.

Impletique sunt septem dies, postquam percussit Dominus fluvium.

So passed the first week after the Lord smote the river.