The Bible

Exodus Chapter 8

¹Yahweh spoke to Moses, "Go in to [see] Pharaoh, and tell him, 'This is what Yahweh says, "Let my people go, so they can serve me. ²If you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your borders with frogs. ³The river will swarm with frogs, which will go up and enter your house, your bedroom, your bed, and into the house of your servants, on your people, and into your ovens, and your kneading troughs. ⁴The frogs will come up, [not only] on you, [but] on your people, and on all your servants."'" ⁵Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.'" ⁶Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷The magicians did the same thing with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Entreat Yahweh, so that he takes away the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go, so they can sacrifice to Yahweh."

⁹Moses said to Pharaoh, "I give you the honor of setting the time that I should pray for you, and for your servants, and for your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, and remain in the river only."

¹⁰He said, "Tomorrow." He said, "Let it be just as you say, that you may know that there is no one like Yahweh our God. ¹¹The frogs will leave you, your houses, your servants, and your people; they will stay only in the river."

¹²Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, and Moses cried to Yahweh concerning the frogs which he had brought on Pharaoh. ¹³Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died from the houses, the courts, and the fields. ¹⁴They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and didn't listen to them, as Yahweh had said.

¹⁶Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff, and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.'" ¹⁷They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were lice on man, and on animal; all the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. ¹⁸The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn't. There were lice on man, and on animal. ¹⁹Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God!" But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and, as Yahweh had said, he wouldn't listen to them.

²⁰Yahweh said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; behold, he comes out to the water; and tell him, 'This is what Yahweh says, "Let my people go, so they can serve me. ²¹Otherwise, if you will not let my people go, look, I will send swarms of flies on you, your servants, and your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the land they're on. ²²On that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live. There will be no swarms of flies there, so that you may know that I am Yahweh on the earth. ²³I will put a division between my people and your people. This sign will happen by tomorrow."'" ²⁴Yahweh did so; and there came dreadful swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses. In all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

²⁵Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God [here] in the land!"

²⁶Moses said, "It isn't appropriate [for us] to do so, for what we will be sacrificing to Yahweh our God the Egyptians [find] disgusting. Look, if we sacrifice what the Egyptians [find] disgusting [right] before their eyes, won't they stone us? ²⁷We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Yahweh our God, as he commands us [to do]."

²⁸Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness, only don't go very far away. Pray for me."

²⁹Moses said, "See, I am leaving. I will pray to Yahweh that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people, tomorrow; only don't let Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh." ³⁰Moses left Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh. ³¹Yahweh 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. ³²Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he didn't let the people go.