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.