Exodus 8
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 8
1 The Lord said to Moses, “Command Aaron: ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the waters, over the canals and pools, and make frogs come out all over the land of Egypt.’ ”
2 Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt and frogs came out and covered the land of Egypt. 3 But the magicians, with their magic, did the same thing and made frogs to come up out all over the land of Egypt.
4 Pharaoh had Moses and Aaron summoned and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me, and my people and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”
5 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Do me the honor of telling me when I should pray for you and your ministers and your people, to free you and your house from frogs, so that they only remain in the waters of the Nile.”
6 He answered, “Tomorrow.” Then Moses said, “As you say. In order that you may know that there is no equal to the Lord, our God, 7 the frogs will leave your house and those of your servants and of your people, remaining only in the Nile.”
8 Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, and Moses beseeched the Lord concerning the frogs that he had sent against Pharaoh. 9 The Lord did as Moses had said and the frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards, and in the fields. 10 They piled them up in heaps and the land stank. 11 But Pharaoh saw that there was a moment of relief, and he became stubborn and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
12 Third Plague: The Gnats.[a] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Command Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth. It will change into gnats[b] in all the land of Egypt.’ ” 13 This is what he did. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth changed into gnats throughout Egypt. 14 The magicians did the same thing with their magic to produce gnats, but they were not able to do it. The gnats were on man and beast. 15 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “It is the finger of God.” But the heart of Pharaoh was so hardened that he did not listen, just as the Lord had predicted.
16 Fourth Plague: The Flies.[c] The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early tomorrow and present yourself to Pharaoh when he goes down to the water. You are to tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go so that they can serve me! 17 If you do not let my people go, then I will send flies[d] upon you, upon your ministers, upon your people, and upon your houses. The houses of Egypt will be filled with flies, and even the ground on which they stand will be filled with them. 18 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen where my people live. There will be no flies there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in the land. 19 Thus I will establish a difference between my people and your people. This sign will happen tomorrow.” ’ ”
20 This is what the Lord did. A huge swarm of flies flew into the house of Pharaoh, the houses of his ministers, and all over the land of Egypt. The area was devastated because of the flies.
21 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go and sacrifice to your God in the land.”
22 But Moses answered, “It would not work, for the sacrifice that we are going to make to the Lord, our God, is an abomination to the Egyptians. Could we perform a sacrifice that is an abomination to the Egyptians in their sight? Would they not stone us?[e] 23 We will go into the desert, a three days’ journey, and that is where we will sacrifice to the Lord, our God, just as he has ordered us.”
24 So Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and you can sacrifice to the Lord in the desert. Only do not go too far and pray for me.”
25 Moses answered, “I will leave you and pray to the Lord. Tomorrow the flies will depart from Pharaoh, from his ministers, and from the people. Pharaoh, however, must not deceive us by not letting the people go to perform their sacrifice to the Lord.”
26 Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 27 The Lord did as Moses said, and the flies departed from Pharaoh, from his ministers, and from his people. There was not even one left. 28 But Pharaoh became stubborn and once again would not let the people go.
Footnotes
- Exodus 8:12 For the first time, the magicians cannot compete with the Lord and recognize his presence.
- Exodus 8:12 Gnats, flies: the type of bothersome insects that caused so much distress is not certain.
- Exodus 8:16 The power of God becomes more evident from the fact that he preserves Israel from the plague that he inflicts upon the Egyptians.
- Exodus 8:17 Gnats, flies: the type of bothersome insects that caused so much distress is not certain.
- Exodus 8:22 The Egyptians would not have endured seeing the Hebrews sacrifice animals that they, the Egyptians, regarded as sacred.
Exodus 8
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Second Plague: Frogs
8 [a]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what Yahweh says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.(A) 2 But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs.(B) 3 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. 4 The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials.”
5 [b]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) 6 When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs(D) came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Ask(E) Yahweh to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to Yahweh.”
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You make the choice rather than me. When should I ask 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 you may know there is no one like Yahweh 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[c] 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 earth, and it will become gnats[d] 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 earth, gnats were on man and beast. All the dust of the earth 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 man and beast.(H)
19 “This is the finger of God,”(I) the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart hardened, 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 Yahweh says: Let My people go, so that they may worship[e] Me.(J) 21 But if you will not let My people go, then I will send swarms of flies[f] against you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The Egyptians’ houses will swarm with flies, and so will the land where they live.[g] 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, Yahweh, am in the land. 23 I will make a distinction[h] 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[i] 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
- Exodus 8:1 Ex 7:26 in Hb
- Exodus 8:5 Ex 8:1 in Hb
- Exodus 8:12 Or frogs, as he had agreed with
- Exodus 8:16 Perhaps sand fleas or mosquitoes
- Exodus 8:20 Or serve
- Exodus 8:21 Or insects
- Exodus 8:21 Lit are
- Exodus 8:23 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads will place deliverance
- Exodus 8:26 Or allowable
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