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The Plague of Frogs

[a]Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “(A)Let My people go, that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I [b]will smite your whole territory with frogs. And the Nile will (B)swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and on your people and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. So the frogs will come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” [c]Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘(C)Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the [d]streams and over the pools, and cause the frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’” So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the [e](D)frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. (E)And the [f]magicians did [g]the same with their secret arts; they caused the frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh (F)called for Moses and Aaron and said, “(G)Entreat Yahweh that He may cause the frogs to depart from me and from my people; and (H)I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to Yahweh.” And Moses said to Pharaoh, “[h]May the honor be yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses, that they may remain only in the Nile?”

10 Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is (I)no one like Yahweh our God. 11 And the (J)frogs will depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.” 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and (K)Moses cried out to Yahweh concerning the frogs which He had set upon Pharaoh. 13 So Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courts, and the fields. 14 So they piled them in heaps, and the land [i]became foul. 15 Then Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he [j]hardened his heart with firmness and (L)did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

The Plague of Gnats

16 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become [k]gnats through all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were [l]gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became [m](M)gnats through all the land of Egypt. 18 Then [n]the magicians did the same with their secret arts in order to bring forth [o]gnats, but (N)they could not; so there were [p]gnats on man and beast. 19 And the [q]magicians said to Pharaoh, “(O)This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was [r]hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

The Plague of Flies

20 And Yahweh said to Moses, “(P)Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh [s]as (Q)he comes out to the water, and you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “(R)Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21 For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 (S)But on that day I will make a distinction for the land of Goshen, where My people are [t]living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, that you may know that [u](T)I, Yahweh, am in the midst of the land. 23 And I will [v]put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will happen.”’” 24 Then Yahweh did so. And there came heavy swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was (U)laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

25 And Pharaoh (V)called for Moses and Aaron and said, “(W)Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God [w]what is (X)an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice [x]what is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us? 27 We must go a (Y)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Yahweh our God as He says to us.” 28 And Pharaoh said, “(Z)I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. (AA)Entreat for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you, and I shall entreat Yahweh that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only may Pharaoh not (AB)deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh.”

30 So (AC)Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh. 31 And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and caused the swarms of flies to depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 Then Pharaoh [y]hardened his heart with firmness this time also, and (AD)he did not let the people go.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 8:1 Ch 7:26 in Heb
  2. Exodus 8:2 Or am about to, cf. 3:13; 7:17
  3. Exodus 8:5 Ch 8:1 in Heb
  4. Exodus 8:5 Or canals
  5. Exodus 8:6 Lit frog
  6. Exodus 8:7 Or soothsayer priests
  7. Exodus 8:7 Lit thus
  8. Exodus 8:9 Lit Glory over me
  9. Exodus 8:14 Had a bad smell
  10. Exodus 8:15 Or glorified, cf. 14:4; lit made heavy
  11. Exodus 8:16 Or lice
  12. Exodus 8:17 Or lice
  13. Exodus 8:17 Or lice
  14. Exodus 8:18 Or soothsayer priests
  15. Exodus 8:18 Or lice
  16. Exodus 8:18 Or lice
  17. Exodus 8:19 Or soothsayer priests
  18. Exodus 8:19 Lit strengthened
  19. Exodus 8:20 Lit behold
  20. Exodus 8:22 Lit standing
  21. Exodus 8:22 Or I am Yahweh in the midst of the earth
  22. Exodus 8:23 Lit set redemption
  23. Exodus 8:26 Lit the abomination of Egypt
  24. Exodus 8:26 Lit the abomination of Egypt
  25. Exodus 8:32 Or glorified, cf. 14:4; lit made heavy

The Second Plague: Frogs

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.(A) But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs.(B) The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials.”

The Lord then said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.”(C) When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs(D) came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Appeal(E) to the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to the Lord.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor of choosing. When should I appeal on behalf of you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile?”

10 “Tomorrow,” he answered.

Moses replied, “As you have said, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God,(F) 11 the frogs will go away from you, your houses, your officials, and your people. The frogs will remain only in the Nile.” 12 After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that he had brought against Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died. 14 They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land. 15 But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart(G) and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats[a] throughout the land of Egypt.” 17 And they did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and when he struck the dust of the land, gnats were on people and animals. All the dust of the land became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on people and animals.(H)

19 “This is the finger of God,”(I) the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Swarms of Flies

20 The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh when you see him going out to the water. Tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship[b] me.(J) 21 But if you will not let my people go, then I will send swarms of flies[c] against you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The Egyptians’ houses will swarm with flies, and so will the land where they live.[d] 22 But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where my people are living;(K) no flies will be there. This way you will know that I, the Lord, am in the land. 23 I will make a distinction[e] between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.”

24 And the Lord did this. Thick swarms of flies went into Pharaoh’s palace and his officials’ houses. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.(L) 25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go sacrifice to your God within the country.”

26 But Moses said, “It would not be right[f] to do that, because what we will sacrifice to the Lord our God is detestable to the Egyptians.(M) If we sacrifice what the Egyptians detest in front of them, won’t they stone us? 27 We must go a distance of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he instructs us.”

28 Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal(N) for me.”

29 “As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will appeal to the Lord, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceptively again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the Lord.” 30 Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord. 31 The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go.

Footnotes

  1. 8:16 Perhaps sand fleas or mosquitoes
  2. 8:20 Or serve
  3. 8:21 Or insects
  4. 8:21 Lit are
  5. 8:23 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads will place redemption
  6. 8:26 Or allowable