Exodus 8
English Standard Version
The Second Plague: Frogs
8 [a] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that (A)they may serve me. 2 But if you (B)refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with (C)frogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into (D)your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people,[b] and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” 5 [c] And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, (E)‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and (F)the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But (G)the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, (H)“Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and (I)I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when (J)I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so (K)that you may know that (L)there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.[d] 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a (M)respite, he (N)hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
The Third Plague: Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, (O)‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and (P)there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The (Q)magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is (R)the finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
The Fourth Plague: Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, (S)“Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, (T)“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 and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 But on that day (U)I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, (V)that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.[e] 23 Thus I will put a division[f] between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” 24 And the Lord did so. (W)There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an (X)abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings (Y)abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go (Z)three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God (AA)as he tells us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. (AB)Plead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh (AC)cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 31 And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh (AD)hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.
Footnotes
- Exodus 8:1 Ch 7:26 in Hebrew
- Exodus 8:3 Or among your people
- Exodus 8:5 Ch 8:1 in Hebrew
- Exodus 8:12 Or which he had brought upon Pharaoh
- Exodus 8:22 Or that I the Lord am in the land
- Exodus 8:23 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew set redemption
Exodus 8
International Standard Version
8 1 [a]he told Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let my people go so they may serve[b] me. 2 And if you refuse to let them go, then I’m going to strike all your territory with frogs. 3 The Nile will swarm with frogs. They’ll come up and enter your house, your bedroom, your bed, and your servants’ houses. They’ll jump on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs. 4 The frogs will be all over you and your servants.”’”
5 [c]Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the Nile River,[d] and over the ponds, and bring up frogs over the land of Egypt.’” 6 So Aaron stretched his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same thing[e] with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord so that he may remove the frogs from me and my people. I’ll let the people go so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
9 Moses told Pharaoh, “You decide[f] when I should plead for you, your servants, and your people to remove[g] the frogs from you and your household. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.[h]”
10 Pharaoh[i] said, “Tomorrow.”
Moses[j] said, “It will be just as you say,[k] so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you, your house, your officials,[l] and your people. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.[m]”
12 Then Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s presence, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs which he had sent[n] on Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did just as Moses asked,[o] and the frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards, and in the fields. 14 They gathered them up into large piles and the land smelled terrible. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
The Plague of Gnats
16 Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff, strike the dust of the ground, and the dust[p] will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’” 17 They did this.[q] Aaron stretched his hand out with his staff, struck the dust of the land, and gnats came on people and animals—all the dust of the ground became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried[r] to do the same thing[s] with their secret arts, but they were unable to bring out the gnats. The gnats were on the people and the animals.
19 The magicians told Pharaoh, “It is the finger of God!”[t] But Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn[u] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
20 The Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he’s going down to the water. You are to say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let my people go so they can serve[v] me. 21 But if you don’t let my people go, I’ll send swarms of insects upon you, your servants, your people, and your households. The houses of Egypt—and even the ground on which they stand—will be filled with swarms of insects. 22 On that day I’ll treat the land of Goshen where my people live[w] differently so that swarms of insects won’t be there. As a result, you will know that I the Lord am in the midst of the land. 23 I’ll make a distinction between my people and your people, and this sign will occur tomorrow.”’”
24 The Lord did this, and dense swarms of insects came into the house of Pharaoh and into the houses of his servants. The land was ruined throughout[x] Egypt because of the swarms of insects. 25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, offer sacrifices to your God in the land.”
26 “It wouldn’t be right to sacrifice in this way,”[y] Moses replied, “because if we do,[z] we will sacrifice to the Lord our God what is offensive to the Egyptians.[aa] If we offer sacrifices that are offensive to the Egyptians[ab] in front of them, they’ll stone us, won’t they? 27 We must go a three-day journey into the desert, and we’ll offer sacrifices to the Lord our God just as he has told us.”
28 Then Pharaoh said, “I’ll let you go so you can offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert. But you must not go very far away. Pray for me.”
29 Moses said, “Right now I’m going to leave you, and I’ll pray to the Lord that the swarms of insects may depart from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people tomorrow. But Pharaoh, don’t continue lying by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
30 Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and prayed to the Lord. 31 The Lord did what Moses asked,[ac] and the swarms of insects departed from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not one remained. 32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart, and he did not let the people go.
Footnotes
- Exodus 8:1 This verse is 7:26 in MT
- Exodus 8:1 Or worship
- Exodus 8:5 This verse is 8:1 in MT
- Exodus 8:5 The Heb. lacks River
- Exodus 8:7 Lit. thus
- Exodus 8:9 Lit. you have honor over me. i.e. I’ll defer to your decision
- Exodus 8:9 Lit. cut off
- Exodus 8:9 The Heb. lacks River
- Exodus 8:10 Lit. he
- Exodus 8:10 Lit. he
- Exodus 8:10 Lit. according to your word
- Exodus 8:11 Or servants
- Exodus 8:11 The Heb. lacks River
- Exodus 8:12 Lit. put
- Exodus 8:13 Lit. according to the word of
- Exodus 8:16 Lit. it
- Exodus 8:17 Lit. thus
- Exodus 8:18 Lit. they did
- Exodus 8:18 Lit. thus
- Exodus 8:19 I.e. an act of God
- Exodus 8:19 Lit. strong
- Exodus 8:20 Or worship
- Exodus 8:22 Lit. are standing
- Exodus 8:24 The Heb. lacks throughout
- Exodus 8:26 Lit. thus
- Exodus 8:26 The Heb. lacks if we do
- Exodus 8:26 Lit. an abomination to the Egyptians
- Exodus 8:26 Lit. an abomination to the Egyptians
- Exodus 8:31 Lit. did according to the word of Moses
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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