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The Second Plague: Frogs

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your borders with frogs. And the river will swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into your house, and into your bedchamber, and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs. So the frogs shall come upon you, upon your people, and upon all your servants.’ ”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch forth your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”

Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. The magicians did the same with their secret arts and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat the Lord, that He may take away the frogs from me, and from my people, and I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “Glory yourself over me: When shall I entreat for you, your servants, and your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only?”

10 And he said, “Tomorrow.”

Then he said, “Be it according to your word, in order that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs shall depart from you, and from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.”

12 Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 13 Then the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, the villages, and the fields. 14 So they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” 17 They did so, for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and smote the dust of the earth, and it became gnats on man and on beast. All the dust of the land became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt. 18 Then the magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not, so there were gnats upon man and beast.

19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” Nevertheless, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

20 So the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes forth to the water and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 21 Otherwise, if you will not let My people go, indeed 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 shall be full of swarms of flies and also the ground wherever they are.

22 “ ‘I will in that day set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 23 I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will happen.’ ”

24 The Lord did so, and great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

25 Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

26 Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for what we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God would be an abomination to the Egyptians. If we shall sacrifice what is an abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and then we will sacrifice to the Lord our God, as He shall command us.”

28 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. Make entreaty for me.”

29 Moses said, “Indeed, I am leaving 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. But let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

30 Moses went away from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. 31 Then the Lord did according to the word of Moses, and He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. 32 Nevertheless, Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, nor would he let the people go.

[a]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(A) me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs(B) on your whole country. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people,(C) and into your ovens and kneading troughs.(D) The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff(E) over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs(F) come up on the land of Egypt.’”

So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs(G) came up and covered the land. But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts;(H) they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray(I) to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices(J) to the Lord.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time(K) for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”

10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God.(L) 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

12 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did what Moses asked.(M) The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. 14 They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief,(N) he hardened his heart(O) and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Gnats

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff(P) and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” 17 They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats(Q) came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. 18 But when the magicians(R) tried to produce gnats by their secret arts,(S) they could not.

Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, 19 the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger(T) of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart(U) was hard and he would not listen,(V) just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Flies

20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning(W) and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(X) me. 21 If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.

22 “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen,(Y) where my people live;(Z) no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know(AA) that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction[b] between my people and your people.(AB) This sign will occur tomorrow.’”

24 And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.(AC)

25 Then Pharaoh summoned(AD) Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”

26 But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians.(AE) And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must take a three-day journey(AF) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(AG) to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”

28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray(AH) for me.”

29 Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully(AI) again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

30 Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord,(AJ) 31 and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. 32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart(AK) and would not let the people go.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-4 is numbered 7:26-29, and 8:5-32 is numbered 8:1-28.
  2. Exodus 8:23 Septuagint and Vulgate; Hebrew will put a deliverance