Exodus 8
New Living Translation
A Plague of Frogs
8 [a]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land. 3 The Nile River will swarm with frogs. They will come up out of the river and into your palace, even into your bedroom and onto your bed! They will enter the houses of your officials and your people. They will even jump into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 Frogs will jump on you, your people, and all your officials.’”
5 [b]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Raise the staff in your hand over all the rivers, canals, and ponds of Egypt, and bring up frogs over all the land.’” 6 So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the whole land! 7 But the magicians were able to do the same thing with their magic. They, too, caused frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and begged, “Plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go, so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
9 “You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then you and your houses will be rid of the frogs. They will remain only in the Nile River.”
10 “Do it tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
“All right,” Moses replied, “it will be as you have said. Then you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials, and your people. They will remain only in the Nile River.”
12 So Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s palace, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had inflicted on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did just what Moses had predicted. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields all died. 14 The Egyptians piled them into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn.[c] He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.
A Plague of Gnats
16 So the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Raise your staff and strike the ground. The dust will turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’” 17 So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. When Aaron raised his hand and struck the ground with his staff, gnats infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals. All the dust in the land of Egypt turned into gnats. 18 Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed. And the gnats covered everyone, people and animals alike.
19 “This is the finger of God!” the magicians exclaimed to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
A Plague of Flies
20 Then the Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 21 If you refuse, then I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and all the houses. The Egyptian homes will be filled with flies, and the ground will be covered with them. 22 But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the Lord and that I am present even in the heart of your land. 23 I will make a clear distinction between[d] my people and your people. This miraculous sign will happen tomorrow.’”
24 And the Lord did just as he had said. A thick swarm of flies filled Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his officials. The whole land of Egypt was thrown into chaos by the flies.
25 Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. “All right! Go ahead and offer sacrifices to your God,” he said. “But do it here in this land.”
26 But Moses replied, “That wouldn’t be right. The Egyptians detest the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God. Look, if we offer our sacrifices here where the Egyptians can see us, they will stone us. 27 We must take a three-day trip into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, just as he has commanded us.”
28 “All right, go ahead,” Pharaoh replied. “I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don’t go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me.”
29 Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will disappear from you and your officials and all your people. But I am warning you, Pharaoh, don’t lie to us again and refuse to let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”
30 So Moses left Pharaoh’s palace and pleaded with the Lord to remove all the flies. 31 And the Lord did as Moses asked and caused the swarms of flies to disappear from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not a single fly remained. 32 But Pharaoh again became stubborn and refused to let the people go.
Exodus 8
Legacy Standard Bible
The Plague of Frogs
8 [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. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I [b]will smite your whole territory with frogs. 3 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. 4 So the frogs will come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” 5 [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.’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the [e](D)frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 (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.
8 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.” 9 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
- Exodus 8:1 Ch 7:26 in Heb
- Exodus 8:2 Or am about to, cf. 3:13; 7:17
- Exodus 8:5 Ch 8:1 in Heb
- Exodus 8:5 Or canals
- Exodus 8:6 Lit frog
- Exodus 8:7 Or soothsayer priests
- Exodus 8:7 Lit thus
- Exodus 8:9 Lit Glory over me
- Exodus 8:14 Had a bad smell
- Exodus 8:15 Or glorified, cf. 14:4; lit made heavy
- Exodus 8:16 Or lice
- Exodus 8:17 Or lice
- Exodus 8:17 Or lice
- Exodus 8:18 Or soothsayer priests
- Exodus 8:18 Or lice
- Exodus 8:18 Or lice
- Exodus 8:19 Or soothsayer priests
- Exodus 8:19 Lit strengthened
- Exodus 8:20 Lit behold
- Exodus 8:22 Lit standing
- Exodus 8:22 Or I am Yahweh in the midst of the earth
- Exodus 8:23 Lit set redemption
- Exodus 8:26 Lit the abomination of Egypt
- Exodus 8:26 Lit the abomination of Egypt
- Exodus 8:32 Or glorified, cf. 14:4; lit made heavy
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.