8 ^1 [a]he told Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let my people go so they may serve^[b] me. ² And if you refuse to let them go, then I’m going to strike all your territory with frogs. ³ The Nile will swarm with frogs. They’ll come up and enter your house, your bedroom, your bed, and your servants’ houses. They’ll jump on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs. ⁴ The frogs will be all over you and your servants.”’”

^5 [c]Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the Nile River,^[d] and over the ponds, and bring up frogs over the land of Egypt.’” ⁶ So Aaron stretched his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ But the magicians did the same thing^[e] with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called to Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord so that he may remove the frogs from me and my people. I’ll let the people go so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹ Moses told Pharaoh, “You decide^[f] when I should plead for you, your servants, and your people to remove^[g] the frogs from you and your household. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.^[h]”

¹⁰ Pharaoh^[i] said, “Tomorrow.”

Moses^[j] said, “It will be just as you say,^[k] so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs will leave you, your house, your officials,^[l] and your people. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.^[m]”

¹² Then Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s presence, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs which he had sent^[n] on Pharaoh. ¹³ The Lord did just as Moses asked,^[o] and the frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards, and in the fields. ¹⁴ They gathered them up into large piles and the land smelled terrible. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

The Plague of Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff, strike the dust of the ground, and the dust^[p] will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷ They did this.^[q] Aaron stretched his hand out with his staff, struck the dust of the land, and gnats came on people and animals—all the dust of the ground became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ The magicians tried^[r] to do the same thing^[s] with their secret arts, but they were unable to bring out the gnats. The gnats were on the people and the animals.

¹⁹ The magicians told Pharaoh, “It is the finger of God!”^[t] But Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn^[u] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

²⁰ The Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he’s going down to the water. You are to say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let my people go so they can serve^[v] me. ²¹ But if you don’t let my people go, I’ll send swarms of insects upon you, your servants, your people, and your households. The houses of Egypt—and even the ground on which they stand—will be filled with swarms of insects. ²² On that day I’ll treat the land of Goshen where my people live^[w] differently so that swarms of insects won’t be there. As a result, you will know that I the Lord am in the midst of the land. ²³ I’ll make a distinction between my people and your people, and this sign will occur tomorrow.”’”

²⁴ The Lord did this, and dense swarms of insects came into the house of Pharaoh and into the houses of his servants. The land was ruined throughout^[x] Egypt because of the swarms of insects. ²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, offer sacrifices to your God in the land.”

²⁶ “It wouldn’t be right to sacrifice in this way,”^[y] Moses replied, “because if we do,^[z] we will sacrifice to the Lord our God what is offensive to the Egyptians.^[aa] If we offer sacrifices that are offensive to the Egyptians^[ab] in front of them, they’ll stone us, won’t they? ²⁷ We must go a three-day journey into the desert, and we’ll offer sacrifices to the Lord our God just as he has told us.”

²⁸ Then Pharaoh said, “I’ll let you go so you can offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert. But you must not go very far away. Pray for me.”

²⁹ Moses said, “Right now I’m going to leave you, and I’ll pray to the Lord that the swarms of insects may depart from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people tomorrow. But Pharaoh, don’t continue lying by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰ Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and prayed to the Lord. ³¹ The Lord did what Moses asked,^[ac] and the swarms of insects departed from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not one remained. ³² But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart, and he did not let the people go.