⁸The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹“When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent. ” ¹⁰So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. ¹¹But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts. ¹²Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs. ¹³Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.