And Pharaoh turned away, and collected his craftsmen and came.
Said Moses to them, "Woe to you! devise not a lie against God:
For then will he destroy you by a punishment. They who have lied have ever perished."
And the magicians discussed their plan, and spake apart in secret:
They said, "These two are surely sorcerers: fain would they drive you from your land by their sorceries, and lead away in their paths your chiefest men:
So muster your craft: then come in order: well this day shall it be for him, who shall gain the upper hand."
They said, "O Moses, wilt thou first cast down thy rod, or shall we be the first who cast?"
He said, "Yes, cast ye down first." And lo! by their enchantment their cords and rods seemed to him as if they ran.
And Moses conceived a secret fear within him.
We said, "Fear not, for thou shalt be the uppermost: