But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grab it by the tail” – so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand –

“If they do not believe you or pay attention to the former sign, then they may believe the latter sign.

“So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And as for me, I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you both what you must do.

I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians.

When the fish that were in the Nile died, the Nile began to stink, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood everywhere in the land of Egypt!

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

When the magicians attempted to bring forth gnats by their secret arts, they could not. So there were gnats on people and on animals.

then the hand of the Lord will surely bring a very terrible plague on your livestock in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.

So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh, Moses threw it into the air, and it caused festering boils to break out on both people and animals.

The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.

I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.

Pray to the Lord, for the mighty thunderings and hail are too much! I will release you and you will stay no longer.”

He said to them, “The Lord will need to be with you if I release you and your dependents! Watch out! Trouble is right in front of you!

The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness so thick it can be felt.”

So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days.

No one could see another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

You must care for it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole community of Israel will kill it around sundown.

This day will become a memorial for you, and you will celebrate it as a festival to the Lord – you will celebrate it perpetually as a lasting ordinance.

When you enter the land that the Lord will give to you, just as he said, you must observe this ceremony.

And on this very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their regiments.