The Lord said, “I am going to make you like God to the king, and Aaron, your brother, will speak to him as your prophet. Tell Aaron everything I’ve said to you, and he will say to the king to get the Israelites out of the country. I will make the king stubborn, and he won’t listen to you, no matter how many terrifying things I do in Egypt. Next, I will cause punishment on the land of Egypt and lead my people’s tribes out of the land. The Egyptians will soon recognize that I am the Lord, when I put My hand against them and bring the Israelites out of the whole country.” So Moses and Aaron obeyed and did just as the Lord had said. Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83 when they had spoken to the king.
The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, “The king will demand that you prove yourselves by performing a miracle.” As God told them, Aaron placed the walking stick down gently in front of the king and officers, and it turned into a snake. The king called out his wise man with his magicians, and they practiced the same thing as if by magic by putting down their walking sticks, and the sticks turned into snakes. But Aaron’s stick swallowed theirs. The king remained stubborn and wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron.