The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(A)“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(B)“Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ²¹ Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. ²² And in that day ^(C)I will set apart the land of ^(D)Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may ^(E)know that I am the Lord in the midst of the ^(F)land. ²³ I will ^[a]make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this ^(G)sign shall be.” ’ ” ²⁴ And the Lord did so. ^(H)Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

²⁶ And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing ^(I)the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not ^[b]stone us? ²⁷ We will go ^(J)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as ^(K)He will command us.”

²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. ^(L)Intercede for me.”

²⁹ Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not ^(M)deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and ^(N)entreated the Lord. ³¹ And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. ³² But Pharaoh ^(O)hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(P)“Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may ^(Q)serve Me. ² For if you ^(R)refuse to let them go, and still hold them, ³ behold, the ^(S)hand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. ⁴ And ^(T)the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” ⁵ Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”

⁶ So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and ^(U)all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. ⁷ Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the ^(V)heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils^(W)

⁸ So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹ And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause ^(X)boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused ^(Y)boils that break out in sores on man and beast. ¹¹ And the ^(Z)magicians could not stand before Moses because of the ^(AA)boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. ¹² But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he ^(AB)did not heed them, just ^(AC)as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

The New Birth

3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ^2 (A)This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for ^(B)no one can do these signs that You do unless ^(C)God is with him.”

³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(D)unless one is born ^[a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(E)unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is ^(F)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ^8 (G)The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ^(H)“How can these things be?”

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ^11 (I)Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and ^(J)you do not receive Our witness. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ^13 (K)No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man ^[b]who is in heaven. ^14 (L)And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so ^(M)must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever ^(N)believes in Him should ^[c]not perish but ^(O)have eternal life. ^16 (P)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten ^(Q)Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ^17 (R)For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

^18 (S)“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, ^(T)that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For ^(U)everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been ^(V)done in God.”

The Seventh Plague: Hail

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(A)“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may ^(B)serve Me, ¹⁴ for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, ^(C)that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. ¹⁵ Now if I had ^(D)stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with ^(E)pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. ¹⁶ But indeed for ^(F)this purpose I have raised you up, that I may ^(G)show My power in you, and that My ^(H)name may be declared in all the earth. ¹⁷ As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. ¹⁸ Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. ¹⁹ Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ”

²⁰ He who ^(I)feared the word of the Lord among the ^(J)servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. ²¹ But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ^(K)hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” ²³ And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and ^(L)the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴ So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵ And the ^(M)hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. ^26 (N)Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

²⁷ And Pharaoh sent and ^(O)called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ^(P)“I have sinned this time. ^(Q)The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. ^28 (R)Entreat^[a] the Lord, that there may be no more ^[b]mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you ^(S)go, and you shall stay no longer.”

²⁹ So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will ^(T)spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the ^(U)earth is the Lord’s. ³⁰ But as for you and your servants, ^(V)I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”

³¹ Now the flax and the barley were struck, ^(W)for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are ^[c]late crops.

³³ So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and ^(X)spread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. ³⁴ And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. ³⁵ So ^(Y)the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.

Greeting

¹ Paul, a ^(A)prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, ² to ^[a]the beloved Apphia, ^(B)Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

^4 (C)I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, ^5 (D)hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, ⁶ that the sharing of your faith may become effective ^(E)by the acknowledgment of ^(F)every good thing which is in ^[b]you in Christ Jesus. ⁷ For we ^[c]have great ^[d]joy and ^[e]consolation in your love, because the ^[f]hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

The Plea for Onesimus

⁸ Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, ⁹ yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ— ¹⁰ I appeal to you for my son ^(G)Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, ¹¹ who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.

¹² I am sending him ^[g]back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own ^[h]heart, ¹³ whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. ¹⁴ But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, ^(H)that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

¹⁵ For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, ¹⁶ no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the ^(I)flesh and in the Lord.

Philemon’s Obedience Encouraged

¹⁷ If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. ¹⁸ But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. ¹⁹ I, Paul, am writing with my own ^(J)hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. ²⁰ Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.

^21 (K)Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. ²² But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for ^(L)I trust that ^(M)through your prayers I shall be granted to you.

Farewell

^23 (N)Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, ²⁴ as do ^(O)Mark, ^(P)Aristarchus, ^(Q)Demas, ^(R)Luke, my fellow laborers.

^25 (S)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.