Va'eira, וָאֵרָא

Passages

Torah: Exodus 7:8 - 8:6
Gospel: Mark 3:1 - 3:6

Torah — Exodus 7:8 - 8:6

7:8 Provision of a Wonder: Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

7:9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Do a wonder for yourselves,’ you will say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’”

7:10 And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded. And Aaron threw his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a snake.

7:11 And Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did likewise with their secret arts.

7:12 Each threw down his staff, and they became snakes, and Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

7:13 And Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had said.

7:14 Plague One: Blood And Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is insensitive; he refuses to release the people.

7:15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must wait to meet him on the bank of the Nile, and you must take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.

7:16 And you must say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Release my people that they may serve me in the desert, and, look, you have not listened until now.”

7:17 Thus says Yahweh, “By this you will know that I am Yahweh. Look, I am about to strike with the staff that is in my hand the water that is in the Nile, and it will be changed to blood.

7:18 And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile.”’”

7:19 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch your hand out over the waters of Egypt and over their rivers, over their canals, and over their pools and over all of their reservoirs of water, so that they become blood,’ and blood will be in all the land of Egypt and in vessels of wood and of stone.”

7:20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh had commanded, and he raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all of the water that was in the Nile was changed to blood.

7:21 And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, and the Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt.

7:22 And the magicians of Egypt did likewise with their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

7:23 And Pharaoh turned and went to his house, and he did not take also this to heart.

7:24 And all of the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they were unable to drink from the water of the Nile.

7:25 And seven days passed after Yahweh struck the Nile.

8:1 Plague Two: Frogs And Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Release my people so that they may serve me.”

8:2 And if you are refusing to release, look, I am going to plague all of your territory with frogs.

8:3 And the Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your bedroom and onto your bed and into the house of your servants and among your people and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs.

8:4 And the frogs will go up against you and against your people and against all of your servants.’”

8:5 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt.’”

8:6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs went up and covered the land of Egypt.

7:8 Aaron’s Wooden Staff Becomes a Snake The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron.

7:9 He 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.”

7:10 So 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.

7:11 Then 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.

7:12 Each one threw his staff down. Each staff turned into a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed theirs up.

7:13 In spite of that, Pharaoh’s heart became stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

7:14 The Nile River Turns Into Blood Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is very stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.

7:15 In 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.

7:16 “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.”

7:17 “‘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.

7:18 The fish in the river will die. The river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.”’”

7:19 The 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.’”

7:20 Moses 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.

7:21 The fish in the Nile died. The river smelled so bad the Egyptians couldn’t drink its water. There was blood everywhere in Egypt.

7:22 But 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.

7:23 Even that miracle didn’t change Pharaoh’s mind. In fact, he turned around and went into his palace.

7:24 All of the Egyptians dug holes near the Nile River to get drinking water. They couldn’t drink water from the river.

7:25 The Plague of Frogs Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile River.

8:1 8 Then 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.

8:2 “‘“If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.

8:3 The 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.

8:4 The frogs will be on you, your people and all of your officials.”’”

8:5 Then 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.’”

8:6 So Aaron reached his hand out over the waters of Egypt. The frogs came up and covered the land.

Gospel — Mark 3:1 - 3:6

3:1 A Man with a Withered Hand Healed And he entered into the synagogue again, and a man who had a withered hand was there.

3:2 And they were watching him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they could accuse him.

3:3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come into the middle.”

3:4 And he said to them, “Is it permitted on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.

3:5 And looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

3:6 And the Pharisees went out immediately with the Herodians and began to conspire against him with regard to how they could destroy him.

Passages

Torah — Exodus 7:8 - 8:6

LEB translation

NIRV translation

Gospel — Mark 3:1 - 3:6

LEB translation

NIRV translation