Exodus 8

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

And this is what the Lord said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh and say to him, The Lord says, Let my people go so that they may give me worship.

2 But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.

And if you will not let them go, see, I will send frogs into every part of your land:

3 The Nile will teem with frogs, and they will come into your palace and up to your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls.

The Nile will be full of frogs, and they will come up into your house and into your bedrooms and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and into your bread-basins.

4 The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

The frogs will come up over you and your people and all your servants.

5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’”

And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Let the rod in your hand be stretched out over the streams and the waterways and the pools, causing frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.

6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

And when Aaron put out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs came up and all the land of Egypt was covered with them.

7 But the magicians did the same thing by their magic arts, and they also brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.

And the wonder-workers did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up over the land of Egypt.

8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.”

Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said, Make prayer to the Lord that he will take away these frogs from me and my people; and I will let the people go and make their offering to the Lord.

9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and your officials and your people that the frogs (except for those in the Nile) may be taken away from you and your houses?”

And Moses said, I will let you have the honour of saying when I am to make prayer for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs may be sent away from you and your houses, and be only in the Nile.

10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh answered. “May it be as you say,” Moses replied, “so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.

And he said, By tomorrow. And he said, Let it be as you say: so that you may see that there is no other like the Lord our God.

11 The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

And the frogs will be gone from you and from your houses and from your servants and from your people and will be only in the Nile.

12 After Moses and Aaron had left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD for help with the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh.

Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses made prayer to the Lord about the frogs which he had sent on Pharaoh.

13 And the LORD did as Moses requested, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died.

And the Lord did as Moses said; and there was an end of all the frogs in the houses and in the open spaces and in the fields.

14 They were piled into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land.

And they put them together in masses, and a bad smell went up from the land.

15 When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

But when Pharaoh saw that there was peace for a time, he made his heart hard and did not give ear to them, as the Lord had said.

16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’”

And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Let your rod be stretched out over the dust of the earth so that it may become insects through all the land of Egypt.

17 This they did, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, gnats came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt.

And they did so; and Aaron, stretching out the rod in his hand, gave a touch to the dust of the earth, and insects came on man and on beast; all the dust of the earth was changed into insects through all the land of Egypt.

18 The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.

And the wonder-workers with their secret arts, attempting to make insects, were unable to do so: and there were insects on man and on beast.

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

Then the wonder-workers said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: but Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not give ear to them, as the Lord had said.

20 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and when Pharaoh goes out to the water, stand before him and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

And the Lord said to Moses, Get up early in the morning and take your place before Pharaoh when he comes out to the water; and say to him, This is what the Lord says: Let my people go to give me worship.

21 But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground where they stand will be full of flies.

For if you do not let my people go, see, I will send clouds of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into their houses; and the houses of the Egyptians and the land where they are will be full of flies.

22 But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.

And at that time I will make a division between your land and the land of Goshen where my people are, and no flies will be there; so that you may see that I am the Lord over all the earth.

23 I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.’”

And I will put a division between my people and your people; tomorrow this sign will be seen.

24 And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by swarms of flies.

And the Lord did so; and great clouds of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses, and all the land of Egypt was made waste because of the flies.

25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within this land.”

And Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said, Go and make your offering to your God here in the land.

26 But Moses replied, “It would not be right to do that, because the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable before the Egyptians, will they not stone us?

And Moses said, It is not right to do so; for we make our offerings of that to which the Egyptians give worship; and if we do so before their eyes, certainly we will be stoned.

27 We must make a three-day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He commands us.”

But we will go three days' journey into the waste land and make an offering to the Lord our God as he may give us orders.

28 Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”

Then Pharaoh said, I will let you go to make an offering to the Lord your God in the waste land; but do not go very far away, and make prayer for me.

29 “As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will pray to the LORD, so that tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh and his officials and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceitfully again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the LORD.”

And Moses said, When I go out from you I will make prayer to the Lord that the cloud of flies may go away from Pharaoh and from his people and from his servants tomorrow: only let Pharaoh no longer by deceit keep back the people from making their offering to the Lord.

30 Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD,

Then Moses went out from Pharaoh and made prayer to the Lord.

31 and the LORD did as Moses requested. He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not one fly remained.

And the Lord did as Moses said, and took away the cloud of flies from Pharaoh and from his servants and from his people; not one was to be seen.

32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well, and he would not let the people go.

But again Pharaoh made his heart hard and did not let the people go.