Exodus 8:16-19

GOD’S WORD Translation

The Third Plague—Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Hold out your staff and strike the dust on the ground. All over Egypt the dust will turn into gnats.’ ”

¹⁷ When Moses told him, Aaron held out the staff in his hand and struck the dust on the ground. It turned into gnats that bit people and animals. All the dust on the ground everywhere in Egypt turned into gnats.

¹⁸ The magicians also tried to produce gnats using their magic spells, but they couldn’t do it. The gnats bit people and animals. ¹⁹ So the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the hand of God!”

Yet, Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had predicted.