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Exodus 8:16-28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Exodus 8:16-28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Fourth Plague: The Flies. 16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh when he sets out toward the water, and say to him: Thus says the Lord: Let my people go to serve me. 17 For if you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your servants and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and the very ground on which they stand will be filled with swarms of flies. 18 But on that day I will make an exception of the land of Goshen, where my people are, and no swarms of flies will be there, so that you may know that I the Lord am in the midst of the land. 19 I will make a distinction[a] between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow. 20 This the Lord did. Thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants; throughout Egypt the land was devastated on account of the swarms of flies.(A)
21 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go sacrifice to your God within the land.” 22 But Moses replied, “It is not right to do so, for what we sacrifice to the Lord, our God, is abhorrent to the Egyptians.[b] If we sacrifice what is abhorrent to the Egyptians before their very eyes, will they not stone us? 23 We must go a three days’ journey in the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord, our God, as he commands us.” 24 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord, your God, in the wilderness, provided that you do not go too far away. Pray for me.” 25 Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Pharaoh, however, must not act deceitfully again and refuse to let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 26 When Moses left Pharaoh, he prayed to the Lord; 27 and the Lord did as Moses had asked, removing the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Not one remained. 28 But once more Pharaoh became obstinate and would not let the people go.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 8:19 A distinction: while some uncertainty surrounds the Hebrew here rendered as “distinction,” it is clear that now the Israelites begin to be set apart from the Egyptians, a separation that reaches a climax in the death of the Egyptian firstborn (11:7).
- 8:22 Perhaps Moses is deceiving the Pharaoh much like the “God-fearing” midwives (1:16–20), although ancient historians writing about Egypt some time after the period in which the exodus is set do note Egyptian prohibitions on sacrificing cattle or slaughtering sacred animals. As such, the Egyptians might well have fiercely resented certain sacrificial practices of the Israelites. Certain animals were held sacred in Egypt, as the representations of various deities.
Exodus 8:16-28
New International Version
Exodus 8:16-28
New International Version
The Plague of Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff(A) and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” 17 They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats(B) came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. 18 But when the magicians(C) tried to produce gnats by their secret arts,(D) they could not.
Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, 19 the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger(E) of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart(F) was hard and he would not listen,(G) just as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning(H) and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(I) me. 21 If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.
22 “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen,(J) where my people live;(K) no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know(L) that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction[a] between my people and your people.(M) This sign will occur tomorrow.’”
24 And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.(N)
25 Then Pharaoh summoned(O) Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”
26 But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians.(P) And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must take a three-day journey(Q) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(R) to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”
28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray(S) for me.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 8:23 Septuagint and Vulgate; Hebrew will put a deliverance
Exodus 10:4-19
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Exodus 10:4-19
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 For if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 They will cover the surface of the earth, so that the earth itself will not be visible. They will eat up the remnant you saved undamaged from the hail, as well as all the trees that are growing in your fields. 6 They will fill your houses and the houses of your servants and of all the Egyptians—something your parents and your grandparents have not seen from the day they appeared on this soil until today.” With that he turned and left Pharaoh.
7 But Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will he be a snare for us? Let the people go to serve the Lord, their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is being destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, who said to them, “Go, serve the Lord, your God. But who exactly will go?” 9 Moses answered, “With our young and old we must go; with our sons and daughters, with our flocks and herds we must go. It is a pilgrimage feast of the Lord for us.” 10 “The Lord help you,”[a] Pharaoh replied, “if I let your little ones go with you! Clearly, you have some evil in mind. 11 By no means! Just you men go and serve the Lord.[b] After all, that is what you have been asking for.” With that they were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 (A)The Lord then said to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon it and eat up all the land’s vegetation, whatever the hail has left. 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord drove an east wind[c] over the land all that day and all night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over the whole land of Egypt and settled down over all its territory. Never before had there been such a fierce swarm of locusts, nor will there ever be again. 15 They covered the surface of the whole land, so that it became black. They ate up all the vegetation in the land and all the fruit of the trees the hail had spared. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in the fields throughout the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord, your God, and against you. 17 But now, do forgive me my sin only this once, and pray to the Lord, your God, only to take this death from me.” 18 When Moses left Pharaoh, he prayed to the Lord, 19 and the Lord caused the wind to shift to a very strong west wind, which took up the locusts and hurled them into the Red Sea.[d] Not a single locust remained within the whole territory of Egypt.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 10:10 The Lord help you…: lit., “May the Lord be with you in the same way as I let you…”; a sarcastic blessing intended as a curse.
- 10:11 Pharaoh realized that if the men alone went they would have to return to their families. He suspected that the Hebrews had no intention of returning.
- 10:13 East wind: coming across the desert from Arabia, the strong east wind brings Egypt the burning sirocco and, at times, locusts. Cf. 14:21.
- 10:19 The Red Sea: the traditional translation, cf. Septuagint and other Versions; but the Hebrew literally means “sea of reeds” or “reedy sea,” which could probably be applied to a number of bodies of shallow water, most likely somewhat to the north of the present deep Red Sea.
Exodus 10:4-19
New International Version
Exodus 10:4-19
New International Version
4 If you refuse(A) to let them go, I will bring locusts(B) into your country tomorrow. 5 They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left(C) after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.(D) 6 They will fill your houses(E) and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’”(F) Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7 Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare(G) to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”(H)
8 Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship(I) the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”
9 Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival(J) to the Lord.”
10 Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.[a] 11 No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.
12 And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand(K) over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”
13 So Moses stretched out his staff(L) over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts;(M) 14 they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts,(N) nor will there ever be again. 15 They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured(O) all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh quickly summoned(P) Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned(Q) against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now forgive(R) my sin once more and pray(S) to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”
18 Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.(T) 19 And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea.[b] Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt.
Footnotes
- Exodus 10:10 Or Be careful, trouble is in store for you!
- Exodus 10:19 Or the Sea of Reeds
Psalm 78:45-46
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 78:45-46
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
45 He sent swarms of insects that devoured them,(A)
frogs that destroyed them.
46 He gave their harvest to the caterpillar,
the fruits of their labor to the locust.
Psalm 78:45-46
New International Version
Psalm 78:45-46
New International Version
Psalm 105:31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 105:31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
31 He spoke and there came swarms of flies,
gnats through all their country.
Psalm 105:31
New International Version
Psalm 105:31
New International Version
Psalm 105:34
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 105:34
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
34 He spoke and the locusts came,
grasshoppers without number.(A)
Psalm 105:34
New International Version
Psalm 105:34
New International Version
Revelation 9:1-11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Revelation 9:1-11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 9
The Fifth Trumpet.[a] 1 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star[b] that had fallen from the sky to the earth. It was given the key for the passage to the abyss. 2 It opened the passage to the abyss,(A) and smoke came up out of the passage like smoke from a huge furnace. The sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the passage.(B) 3 Locusts came out of the smoke onto the land, and they were given the same power as scorpions[c] of the earth.(C) 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or any tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torment them for five months;[d] the torment they inflicted was like that of a scorpion when it stings a person. 6 During that time these people will seek death but will not find it, and they will long to die but death will escape them.(D)
7 [e]The appearance of the locusts was like that of horses ready for battle. On their heads they wore what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,(E) 8 and they had hair like women’s hair. Their teeth were like lions’ teeth,(F) 9 and they had chests like iron breastplates. The sound of their wings was like the sound of many horse-drawn chariots racing into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, with stingers; with their tails they had power to harm people for five months. 11 They had as their king the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon[f] and in Greek Apollyon.
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- 9:1–12 The fifth trumpet heralds a woe containing elements from the eighth and ninth plagues of Egypt (Ex 10:12–15, 21–23) but specifically reminiscent of the invasion of locusts in Jl 1:4–2:10.
- 9:1 A star: late Judaism represented fallen powers as stars (Is 14:12–15; Lk 10:18; Jude 13), but a comparison with Rev 1:20 and Rev 20:1 suggests that here it means an angel. The passage to the abyss: referring to Sheol, the netherworld, where Satan and the fallen angels are kept for a thousand years, to be cast afterwards into the pool of fire; cf. Rev 20:7–10. The abyss was conceived of as a vast subterranean cavern full of fire. Its only link with the earth was a kind of passage or mine shaft, which was kept locked.
- 9:3 Scorpions: their poisonous sting was proverbial; Ez 2:6; Lk 11:12.
- 9:5 For five months: more or less corresponding to the life-span of locusts.
- 9:7–10 Eight characteristics are listed to show the eschatological and diabolical nature of these locusts.
- 9:11 Abaddon: Hebrew (more precisely, Aramaic) for destruction or ruin. Apollyon: Greek for the “Destroyer.”
Revelation 9:1-11
New International Version
Revelation 9:1-11
New International Version
9 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth.(A) The star was given the key(B) to the shaft of the Abyss.(C) 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.(D) The sun and sky were darkened(E) by the smoke from the Abyss.(F) 3 And out of the smoke locusts(G) came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions(H) of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm(I) the grass of the earth or any plant or tree,(J) but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.(K) 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months.(L) And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion(M) when it strikes. 6 During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.(N)
7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle.(O) On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.(P) 8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.(Q) 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.(R) 10 They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.(S) 11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss,(T) whose name in Hebrew(U) is Abaddon(V) and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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