Exodus 8:20-32
Expanded Bible
The Flies
20 The Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and meet the king of Egypt as he goes out to the ·river [L water]. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so they can ·worship [serve] me. 21 If you don’t let them go, I will send swarms of flies into your houses. The flies will be on you, your officers, and your people. The houses of Egypt will be full of flies, and they will be all over the ground, too. 22 ·But I will not treat the Israelites the same as the Egyptian people [On that day I will separate the land of Goshen where my people are; C located in the eastern part of the Nile Delta; Gen. 45:10]. There will not be any flies ·in the land of Goshen, where my people live [L there]. By this you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will ·treat my people differently from [or set redemption between my people and] your people. This ·miracle [sign] will happen tomorrow.’”
24 So the Lord did as he had said, and great swarms of flies came into ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] palace and his officers’ houses. All over Egypt flies were ·ruining [destroying] the land. 25 ·The king [L Pharaoh] called for Moses and Aaron and told them, “[L Go,] Offer sacrifices to your God here in this ·country [land].”
26 But Moses said, “It wouldn’t be right to do that, ·because the Egyptians hate the sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God [L the sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians]. If they see us offering sacrifices they ·hate [detest], ·they will throw stones at us and kill us [L will they not stone us?]. 27 Let us make a three-day journey into the ·desert [wilderness]. We must offer sacrifices to the Lord our God there, as he told us to do.”
28 ·The king [L Pharaoh] said, “I will let you go so that you may offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the ·desert [wilderness], but you must not go very far away. Now go and ·pray [intreat; intercede] for me.”
29 Moses said, “I will ·leave [go out] and ·pray [intreat; intercede] to the Lord, and he will take the flies away from you, your officers, and your people tomorrow. But do not ·try to trick [deal falsely with] us again. Do not stop the people from going to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
30 So Moses ·left the king [L went out from Pharaoh] and ·prayed to [entreated; interceded with] the Lord, 31 and the Lord did as he asked. He removed the flies from ·the king [L Pharaoh], his officers, and his people so that not one fly was left. 32 But ·the king became stubborn [L Pharaoh hardened his heart] again and did not let the people go.
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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
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
