¹⁸ So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and pleaded with the Lord.

²⁸ Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies!^[a] Pray for those who persecute you!

²⁸ “All right, go ahead,” Pharaoh replied. “I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don’t go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me.”

²⁹ Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will disappear from you and your officials and all your people. But I am warning you, Pharaoh, don’t lie to us again and refuse to let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses left Pharaoh’s palace and pleaded with the Lord to remove all the flies.

⁹ “You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then you and your houses will be rid of the frogs. They will remain only in the Nile River.”