Exodus 8:20-32
New King James Version
The Fourth Plague: Flies
20 And the Lord said to Moses, (A)“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: (B)“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, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 And in that day (C)I will set apart the land of (D)Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may (E)know that I am the Lord in the midst of the (F)land. 23 I will [a]make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this (G)sign shall be.” ’ ” 24 And the Lord did so. (H)Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.
25 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”
26 And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing (I)the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not [b]stone us? 27 We will go (J)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as (K)He will command us.”
28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. (L)Intercede for me.”
29 Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not (M)deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”
30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and (N)entreated the Lord. 31 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh (O)hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.
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- Exodus 8:23 Lit. set a ransom, Ex. 9:4; 11:7
- Exodus 8:26 Put us to death by stoning
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 8:22 Or “deal differently with”
- Exodus 8:24 Literally “heavy”
- Exodus 8:32 Literally “heavy”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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