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Exodus 8:20-32
Expanded Bible
Exodus 8:20-32
Expanded Bible
The Flies
20 The Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and meet the king of Egypt as he goes out to the ·river [L water]. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so they can ·worship [serve] me. 21 If you don’t let them go, I will send swarms of flies into your houses. The flies will be on you, your officers, and your people. The houses of Egypt will be full of flies, and they will be all over the ground, too. 22 ·But I will not treat the Israelites the same as the Egyptian people [On that day I will separate the land of Goshen where my people are; C located in the eastern part of the Nile Delta; Gen. 45:10]. There will not be any flies ·in the land of Goshen, where my people live [L there]. By this you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will ·treat my people differently from [or set redemption between my people and] your people. This ·miracle [sign] will happen tomorrow.’”
24 So the Lord did as he had said, and great swarms of flies came into ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] palace and his officers’ houses. All over Egypt flies were ·ruining [destroying] the land. 25 ·The king [L Pharaoh] called for Moses and Aaron and told them, “[L Go,] Offer sacrifices to your God here in this ·country [land].”
26 But Moses said, “It wouldn’t be right to do that, ·because the Egyptians hate the sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God [L the sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians]. If they see us offering sacrifices they ·hate [detest], ·they will throw stones at us and kill us [L will they not stone us?]. 27 Let us make a three-day journey into the ·desert [wilderness]. We must offer sacrifices to the Lord our God there, as he told us to do.”
28 ·The king [L Pharaoh] said, “I will let you go so that you may offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the ·desert [wilderness], but you must not go very far away. Now go and ·pray [intreat; intercede] for me.”
29 Moses said, “I will ·leave [go out] and ·pray [intreat; intercede] to the Lord, and he will take the flies away from you, your officers, and your people tomorrow. But do not ·try to trick [deal falsely with] us again. Do not stop the people from going to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
30 So Moses ·left the king [L went out from Pharaoh] and ·prayed to [entreated; interceded with] the Lord, 31 and the Lord did as he asked. He removed the flies from ·the king [L Pharaoh], his officers, and his people so that not one fly was left. 32 But ·the king became stubborn [L Pharaoh hardened his heart] again and did not let the people go.
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Exodus 8:20-32
New International Version
Exodus 8:20-32
New International Version
The Plague of Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning(A) 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(B) 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,(C) where my people live;(D) no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know(E) that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction[a] between my people and your people.(F) 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.(G)
25 Then Pharaoh summoned(H) 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.(I) And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must take a three-day journey(J) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(K) 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(L) for me.”
29 Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully(M) again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
30 Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord,(N) 31 and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. 32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart(O) and would not let the people go.
Footnotes
- Exodus 8:23 Septuagint and Vulgate; Hebrew will put a deliverance
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