< Exodus 8 >

1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus hath said the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
The Lord also said to Moses: “Enter to Pharaoh, and you will say to him: ‘Thus says the Lord: Release my people in order to sacrifice to me.
2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
But if you are not willing to release them, behold, I will strike all your coasts with frogs.
3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, and they shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy sleeping-chamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and among thy people, and into thy ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs;
And the river will seethe with frogs, which will go up and enter into your house, and your bedroom, and upon your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens, and into the remains of your foods.
4 And upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants, shall the frogs come up.
And to you, and to your people, and to all your servants, the frogs will enter.’”
5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thy hand with thy staff over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause the frogs to come up over the land of Egypt.
And the Lord said to Moses: “Say to Aaron: ‘Extend your hand over the rivers, and also over the streams and the marshes, and bring forth frogs over the land of Egypt.’”
6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
And Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
7 And the magicians did so with their secret arts, and brought up the frogs over the land of Egypt.
Then the sorcerers also, by their incantations, did similarly, and they brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.
8 Then did Pharaoh call 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, that they may sacrifice unto the Lord.
But Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and he said to them: “Pray to the Lord, so as to take away the frogs from me and from my people. And I will release the people, so as to sacrifice to the Lord.”
9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Arrogate thyself glory over me: for what time shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and from thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
And Moses said to Pharaoh: “Appoint for me a time, when I should petition on behalf of you, and your servants, and your people, so that the frogs may be driven away from you, and from your house, and from your servants, and from your people, and so that they may remain only in the river.”
10 And he said, For tomorrow; and he said, Be it according to thy word; in order that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God.
And he responded, “Tomorrow.” Then he said, “I will act according to your word, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.
11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; only in the river shall they remain.
And the frogs will withdraw from you, and from your house, and from your servants, and from your people. And they will remain only in the river.”
12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried unto the Lord on account of the frogs which he had inflicted on Pharaoh.
And Moses and Aaron departed from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the Lord on behalf of the promise that he had made to Pharaoh concerning the frogs.
13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields.
And the Lord acted according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of the fields.
14 And they gathered them together in many heaps; and the land stank.
And they gathered them together into immense piles, and the land was polluted.
15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken.
Then Pharaoh, seeing that relief had been provided, hardened his own heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had instructed.
16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy staff, and smite the dust of the earth, and it shall become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
And the Lord said to Moses: “Say to Aaron: ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the earth. And let there be stinging insects throughout the entire the land of Egypt.’”
17 And they did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and smote the dust of the earth, and the lice were thus on man, and on beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
And they did so. And Aaron extended his hand, holding the staff, and he struck the dust of the earth, and there came stinging insects upon men and upon beasts. All the dust of the earth was turned into stinging insects through all the land of Egypt.
18 And the magicians did so with their secret arts to bring forth the lice, but they could not; so were the lice upon man and upon beast.
And the sorcerers, with their incantations, did similarly, in order to bring forth stinging insects, but they were not able. And there were stinging insects, as much on men as on beasts.
19 Then said the magicians unto Pharaoh, This is a finger of God; but Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken.
And the sorcerers said to Pharaoh: “This is the finger of God.” And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had instructed.
20 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and place thyself before Pharaoh; lo, he goeth forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus hath said the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
The Lord also said to Moses: “Arise at first light, and stand in the sight of Pharaoh, for he will go out to the waters. And you will say to him: ‘Thus says the Lord: Release my people to sacrifice to me.
21 For if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send against thee, and against thy servants, and against thy people, and into thy houses various wild beasts: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of the wild beasts, and also the ground whereon they dwell.
But if you will not release them, behold, I will send upon you, and upon your servants, and upon your people, and into your houses, diverse kinds of flies. And the houses of the Egyptians will be filled with diverse kinds of flies, as well as the whole land in which they will be.
22 And I will distinguish on that day the land of Goshen, in which my people abideth, so that no wild beasts shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
And in that day, I will cause a miracle in the land of Goshen, where my people are, so that flies will not be there. And you will know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
23 And I will put a distinction between my people and thy people; tomorrow shall this sign be.
And I will set a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will be.’”
24 And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous multitude of beasts into the house of Pharaoh, and into the house of his servants; and in all the land of Egypt, the land was laid waste by reason of the wild beasts.
And the Lord did so. And there came very grievous flies into the houses of Pharaoh and of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt. And the land was polluted, in this way, by the flies.
25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and he said to them, “Go and sacrifice to your God in this land.”
26 And Moses said, It is not proper to do so; for the abomination of the Egyptians must we sacrifice to the Eternal our God: lo, if we should sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, would they not stone us?
And Moses said: “It cannot be so. For we will immolate the abominations of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. For if we slaughter those things which the Egyptians worship, in their presence, they will stone us.
27 A three days' journey will we go into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, just as he may say unto us.
We will sojourn three days’ journey into the wilderness. And we will sacrifice to the Lord our God, just as he has instructed us.”
28 And Pharaoh said, I will surely let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Eternal your God in the wilderness; only do not go very far away: entreat for me.
And Pharaoh said: “I will release you in order to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the desert. Yet you may only go so far. Petition for me.”
29 And Moses said, Behold, I am going out from thee, and I will entreat the Lord, and the wild beasts shall depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more, so as not to let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.
And Moses said: “After departing from you, I will pray to the Lord. And the flies will withdraw from Pharaoh, and from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Yet do not be willing to deceive any longer, so that you would not release the people to sacrifice to the Lord.”
30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord.
And Moses, departing from Pharaoh, prayed to the Lord.
31 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the wild beasts from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
And he acted according to his word. And he took away the flies from Pharaoh, and from his servants, and from his people. There was not even one left behind.
32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, and he did not let the people go.
And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, so that, even at this turn, he would not release the people.

< Exodus 8 >