Exodus 8

1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Yahweh says this: “Let my people go so that they may worship me.

And the Lord said to Moses, Go in to Pharao, and you shall say to him, These things says the Lord: send forth my people, that they may serve me.

2 If you refuse to let them go, I will afflict all your country with frogs.

And if you will not send them forth, behold, I afflict all your borders with frogs:

3 The river will swarm with frogs. They will come up and go into your house, your bedroom, and your bed. They will go into your servants' houses. They will go onto your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls.

and the river shall teem with frogs, and they shall go up and enter into your houses, and into your bed-chambers, and upon your beds, and upon the houses of your servants, and of your people and on your dough, and on your ovens.

4 The frogs will attack you, your people, and all your servants.”'”

And upon you, and upon your servants, and upon your people, shall the frogs come up.

5 Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, 'Reach out with your hand and your staff over the rivers, the streams, and the pools, and bring the frogs up over the land of Egypt.'”

And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron your brother, Stretch forth with the hand your rod over the rivers, and over the canals, and over the pools, and bring up the frogs.

6 Aaron reached out with his hand over Egypt's waters, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

And Aaron stretched forth his hand over the waters of Egypt, and brought up the frogs: and the frog was brought up, and covered the land of Egypt.

7 But the magicians did the same with their magic; they brought up frogs over the land of Egypt.

And the charmers of the Egyptians also did likewise with their sorceries, and brought up the frogs on the land of Egypt.

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

And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said, Pray for me to the Lord, and let him take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will send them away, and they shall sacrifice to the Lord.

9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You can have the privilege of telling me when I should pray for you, your servants, and your people, so that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and stay only in the river.”

And Moses said to Pharao, Appoint me [a time] when I shall pray for you, and for your servants, and for your people, to cause the frogs to disappear from you, and from your people, and from your houses, only in the river shall they be left behind.

10 Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Let it be as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like Yahweh, our God.

And he said, On the morrow: he said therefore, As you has said; that you may know, that there is no other [God] but the Lord.

11 The frogs will go from you, your houses, your servants, and your people. They will stay only in the river.”

And the frogs shall be removed away from you, and from your houses and from the villages, and from your servants, and from your people, only in the river they shall be left.

12 Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. Then Moses cried out to Yahweh concerning the frogs that he had brought on Pharaoh.

And Moses and Aaron went forth from Pharao, and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the restriction of the frogs, as Pharao appointed him.

13 Yahweh did as Moses asked: The frogs died in the houses, courts, and fields.

And the Lord did as Moses said, and the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of the fields.

14 The people gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.

And 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 Moses and Aaron, just as Yahweh had said that he would do.

And when Pharao saw that there was relief, his heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord spoke.

16 Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, 'Reach out with your staff and strike the dust on the ground, that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.'”

And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch forth your rod with your hand and strike the dust of the earth; and there shall be lice both upon man, and upon quadrupeds, and in all the land of Egypt.

17 They did so: Aaron reached out with his hand and his staff. He struck the dust on the ground. Gnats came onto man and beast. All the dust on the ground became gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.

So Aaron stretched out his rod with his hand, and struck the dust of the earth; and the lice were on men and on quadrupeds, and in all the dust of the earth there were lice.

18 The magicians tried with their magic to produce gnats, but they could not. There were gnats on man and beast.

And the charmers also did so with their sorceries, to bring forth the louse, and they could not. And the lice were both on the men and on the quadrupeds.

19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, so he refused to listen to them. It was just as Yahweh had said Pharaoh would do.

So the charmers said to Pharao, This is the finger of God. But the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he listened not to them, as the Lord said.

20 Yahweh said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in front of Pharaoh as he goes out to the river. Say to him, 'Yahweh says this: “Let my people go so that they may worship me.

And the Lord said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharao: and behold, he will go forth to the water, and you shall say to him, These things says the Lord: Send away my people, that they may serve me in the wilderness.

21 But if you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your servants, and your people, and into your houses. The Egyptians' houses will be full of swarms of flies, and even the ground on which they stand will be full of flies.

And if you will not let my people go, behold, I send upon you, and upon your servants, and upon your people, and upon your houses, the dog-fly; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with the dog-fly, even throughout the land upon which they are.

22 But on that day I will treat the land of Goshen differently, the land in which my people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there. This will happen so that you may know that I am Yahweh in the midst of this land.

and I will distinguish marvelously in that day the land of Gesem, on which my people dwell, in which the dog-fly shall not be: that you may know that I am the Lord the God of all the earth.

23 I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign of my power will take place tomorrow.”'”

And I will put a difference between my people and your people, and on the morrow shall this be on the land. And the Lord did thus.

24 Yahweh did so, and thick swarms of flies came into Pharaoh's house and into his servants' houses. Throughout the whole land of Egypt, the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.

And the dog-fly came in abundance into the houses of Pharao, and into the houses of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was destroyed by the dog-fly.

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

And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, saying, Go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the land.

26 Moses said, “It is not right for us to do so, for the sacrifices we make to Yahweh our God are something disgusting to the Egyptians. If we make sacrifices right before their eyes that are disgusting to the Egyptians, will they not stone us?

And Moses said, It can’t be so, for we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God the abominations of the Egyptians; for if we sacrifice the abominations of the Egyptians before them, we shall be stoned.

27 No, it is a three days' journey into the wilderness that we must make, in order to sacrifice to Yahweh our God, as he commands us.”

We will go a journey of three days into the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to the Lord our God, as the Lord said to us.

28 Pharaoh said, “I will allow you to go and sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness. Only you must not go very far away. Pray for me.”

And Pharao said, I [will] let you go, and do you sacrifice to your God in the wilderness, but do not go very far away: pray then for me to the Lord.

29 Moses said, “As soon as I go out from you, I will pray to Yahweh that the swarms of flies may leave you, Pharaoh, and your servants and people tomorrow. But you must not deal deceitfully any more by not letting our people go to sacrifice to Yahweh.”

And Moses said, I then will go forth from you and pray to God, and the dog-fly shall depart both from your servants, and from your people to-morrow. Do not you, Pharao, deceive again, so as not to send the people away to do sacrifice to the Lord.

30 Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh.

And Moses went out from Pharao, and prayed to God.

31 Yahweh did as Moses asked; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Not one remained.

And the Lord did as Moses said, and removed the dog-fly from Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people, and there was not one left.

32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

And Pharao hardened his heart, even on this occasion, and he would not send the people away.