Exodus - Chapter 8

¹ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Stretch out your hand with your staff, over the rivers, the canals and the marshland, and bring the frogs up over the land of Egypt." '

² So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

³ But by their spells the magicians did the same, bringing frogs over the land of Egypt.

⁴ Pharaoh then summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Entreat Yahweh to take the frogs away from me and my subjects, and I promise to let the people go and sacrifice to Yahweh.'

⁵ Moses said to Pharaoh, 'You are the one to gain by it: when would you like me to pray for you, your officials and your subjects, so as to rid you and your houses of the frogs so that they will be left only in the River?'

⁶ 'Tomorrow,' he said. Moses said, 'It shall be as you say, so that you will know that there is no one like Yahweh our God.

⁷ The frogs will leave you, your houses, your officials and your subjects and will be left only in the River.'

⁸ Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh's presence, and Moses pleaded with Yahweh about the frogs which he had inflicted on Pharaoh.

⁹ Yahweh did as Moses asked, and in house and courtyard and field the frogs died.

¹⁰ They piled them up in heaps and the country stank.

¹¹ But once Pharaoh saw that there had been a respite, he became obstinate and, as Yahweh had foretold, refused to listen to them.

¹² Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will turn into mosquitoes throughout the whole of Egypt." '

¹³ Aaron stretched out his hand, with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were mosquitoes on man and beast; all the dust of the earth turned into mosquitoes throughout the whole of Egypt.

¹⁴ By their spells the magicians tried to produce mosquitoes in the same way but failed, and there were mosquitoes on man and beast.

¹⁵ So the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.' But Pharaoh was obstinate and, as Yahweh had foretold, refused to listen to them.

¹⁶ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he makes his way to the water. Say to him, "Yahweh says this: Let my people go and worship me.

¹⁷ But if you will not let my people go, I shall send horseflies on you, on your officials, your subjects and your houses. The Egyptians' houses will swarm with horseflies, and so will the very ground they stand on.

¹⁸ But I shall exempt the region of Goshen, where my people are living, that day; there will be no horseflies there, so that you will know that I am Yahweh, here in this country.

¹⁹ I shall make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow." '

²⁰ Yahweh did this, and great swarms of horseflies found their way into Pharaoh's palace, into his officials' houses and all over Egypt; the country was ruined by the horseflies.

²¹ Pharaoh then summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Go and sacrifice to your God, inside the country.'

²² 'That would never do,' Moses said, 'since what we sacrifice to Yahweh our God is outrageous to the Egyptians. If the Egyptians see us offering sacrifices which outrage them, won't they stone us?

²³ We shall make a three-days' journey into the desert to sacrifice to Yahweh our God, as he has ordered us.'

²⁴ Pharaoh said, 'I will let you go and sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert, provided you do not go very far. Pray for me.'

²⁵ 'The moment I leave you,' Moses said, 'I shall pray to Yahweh. Tomorrow morning the horseflies will leave Pharaoh, his officials and his subjects. But Pharaoh must stop trifling with us by not allowing the people to go and sacrifice to Yahweh.'

²⁶ Moses then left Pharaoh's presence and prayed to Yahweh,

²⁷ and Yahweh did as Moses asked; the horseflies left Pharaoh, his officials and his subjects; not one remained.

²⁸ But Pharaoh became obstinate this time too and did not let the people go.

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