Exodus 8:20-32
New American Standard Bible
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(A)Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, [a]as (B)he comes out to the water; and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “(C)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 21 For if you are not going to 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 live. 22 (D)But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are [b]living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that [c](E)I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land. 23 I will [d]put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.”’” 24 Then the Lord did so. And [e]thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was (F)laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.
25 Then Pharaoh (G)called for Moses and Aaron and said, “(H)Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It is not permissible for us to do so, because we will sacrifice to the Lord our God [f]that which is (I)an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice [g]that which is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go a (J)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God, just as He [h]commands us.” 28 Pharaoh said, “(K)I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. (L)Plead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going to leave 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 do not let Pharaoh (M)deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”
30 So (N)Moses left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 31 The Lord did [i]as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh [j]hardened his heart this time also, and (O)he did not let the people go.
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- Exodus 8:20 Lit behold
- Exodus 8:22 Lit standing
- Exodus 8:22 Or I am the Lord in the midst of the earth
- Exodus 8:23 Lit set a ransom
- Exodus 8:24 Lit heavy
- Exodus 8:26 Lit the abomination of Egypt
- Exodus 8:26 Lit the abomination of Egypt
- Exodus 8:27 Lit says to us
- Exodus 8:31 Lit according to the word of Moses
- Exodus 8:32 Lit made heavy
Exodus 8:20-32
Lexham English Bible
Plague Four: Flies
20 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Release my people so that they may serve me.” 21 But if you are not about to release my people, look, I am about to send out flies among you and among your servants and among your people and in your houses; and the houses of Egypt will fill up with the flies and also the ground that they are on. 22 But on that day I will distinguish[a] the land of Goshen, where my people are staying, by there not being flies there, so that you will know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the land. 23 And I will put a distinction between my people and your people; this sign will be tomorrow.’”
24 And Yahweh did so, and a severe[b] swarm of flies came to the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants and in all the land of Egypt; the land was ruined because of the flies. 25 And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and he said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” 26 And Moses said, “To do so is not right, because we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God a thing detestable to the Egyptians. Look, if we sacrifice before their eyes the thing detestable to the Egyptians, will they not stone us? 27 We will go a journey of three days into the desert, and we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God according to what he says to us.”
28 And Pharaoh said, “I myself will release you, and you will sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert. Only surely you must not go far. Pray for me.” 29 And Moses said, “Look, I am going out from you, and I will pray to Yahweh so that the flies depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh again deceive us by not releasing the people to sacrifice to Yahweh.”
30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh. 31 And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and removed the flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one was left. 32 And Pharaoh made his heart insensitive[c] also this time, and he did not release the people.
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- Exodus 8:22 Or “deal differently with”
- Exodus 8:24 Literally “heavy”
- Exodus 8:32 Literally “heavy”
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