Exodus 8

1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go back to the king and tell him, ‘Yahweh says that you must let my people go, in order that they can worship me [in the desert].

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

2 But if you refuse to let them go, I will punish you by sending frogs to cover your country.

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

3 [Not only] will the Nile [River] be full of frogs, [but] the frogs will come up [out of the river] into your palace. They will come into your bedroom and onto your bed. They will be in the houses of your officials and all [the rest of] your people. They will even get into your ovens and your pans for mixing the materials for baking bread.

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.

4 The frogs will jump up on you and your officials and [all the rest of] your people.’”

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

5 Yahweh [also] said to Moses/me, “Say this to Aaron: ‘Hold your stick in your hand and stretch it out [as though you were stretching it] over the river, the canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up [from all this water and] cover the land of Egypt.’”

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.'”

6 [After Moses/I told that to] Aaron, he stretched out his hand [as though he were stretching it] over all the water in Egypt. And the frogs came up [from the water and] covered Egypt.

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

7 But the men who performed magic did the same thing, and they caused [more] frogs to come up [from the water onto the land].

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

8 Then the king summoned Moses/me and said, “Ask Yahweh to take away these frogs from me and my people. After that happens, I will allow your people to go, in order that they can offer sacrifices to Yahweh.”

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.”

9 Moses/I said to the king, “I will be glad to pray for you and for your officials and for [the rest of] your people. [I will ask Yahweh] to get rid of the frogs from all your houses. The only frogs left will be [those] in the Nile [River]. Just tell me when I should pray.”

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.”

10 He replied, “Tomorrow.” So Moses/I said, “[I will do] what you say, and then you will know that Yahweh God, the one we [worship, is the only true god], and that there is no other god like him.

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.

11 The frogs will leave you and your officials and all [the rest of] your people. The only ones left will be in the Nile [River].”

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

12 Aaron and Moses/I left the king. Then Moses/I prayed to Yahweh, [asking him to take away] all the frogs he had [brought to the king’s land].

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

13 And Yahweh did just what Moses/I [asked him to do]. As a result, all the frogs in the houses, in their courtyards, and in the fields died.

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

14 The people gathered together all the dead frogs into big piles, and the land stank [from the smell].

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

15 But when the king saw that [the problem] was ended, he became stubborn [IDM] [again]. And just as Yahweh had predicted, he would not pay attention to what Aaron and Moses/we told him.

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.

16 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell Aaron to strike the ground with his stick. [When he does that], all the fine particles of ground/dust will become gnats, all over the land of Egypt.”

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.'”

17 So they/we did that. Aaron struck the ground with his stick, and all over Egypt, the fine particles of ground/dirt became gnats. The gnats covered the people and all [their] animals.

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.

18 The men who worked magic tried to cause gnats to appear, but they were unable to do it. So the gnats [stayed] on the Egyptian people and on their animals.

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

19 The men who worked magic said to the king, “It is God who has done this with his power [MTY]!” But the king continued to be stubborn [IDM], and he would not pay attention to us, just as Yahweh had predicted.

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.

20 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Get up early [tomorrow] morning. [Go down] to the river and wait for the king. [When he comes to bathe] [MTY], say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says to you: “Let my people go, in order that they may worship me [in the desert].

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.

21 [I warn you that] if you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies to you. They will come down on you and on your officials and on [the rest of] your people. The houses of all you Egyptians will be full of flies. They will [even] cover the ground.

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.

22 But when that happens, I will treat the Goshen region, where my people live, differently. There will be no swarms of flies there. In that way, you will know that I, Yahweh, am doing these things [here] in this land.

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.

23 I will distinguish clearly between [how I act toward] my people and [how I act toward] your people. And this plague is going to happen tomorrow!”’”

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

24 [Early the next morning, Moses/I told that to the king, but the king would not pay any attention]. So Yahweh did what he said he would do. He sent great swarms of flies into the palace of the king and into the houses of his officials. The whole country of Egypt was ruined by the flies.

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.

25 Then the king summoned Aaron and Moses/me and said, “You Israeli people can go and offer sacrifices to your god, [but you must do it] here in [this] land.”

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

26 But Moses/I replied, “It would not be right [for us] to do that, because we will be offering sacrifices that are very offensive to the Egyptian people. If we offer sacrifices that the Egyptian people think are disgusting, they will kill us by throwing stones at us [RHQ]!

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?

27 No, we need to travel for three days into the desert. There we will offer sacrifices to Yahweh, the God we worship, just as he commands (OR, has commanded) us.”

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.”

28 So the king said, “I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, your god, in the desert. But you must not go very far. [Now] pray for me!”

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.”

29 Moses/I said, “Listen [to me]! After I leave you, I will pray to Yahweh, [asking] that tomorrow [he will cause] the swarms of flies to leave you and your officials and [the rest of] your people. But do not deceive us again by refusing to let our people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh!”

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.”

30 Then Moses/I left the king and prayed to Yahweh.

Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh.

31 And Yahweh did what Moses/I asked, and he got rid of the swarms of flies from [around] the king and his officials and [the rest of] his people. No flies remained.

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

32 But the king was stubborn [IDM] this time also, and he did not allow the Israeli people to go.

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