Exodus 8:8–19

⁸The king called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take away these frogs, and I will let your people go, so that they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹Moses replied, “I will be glad to pray for you. Just set the time when I am to pray for you, your officers, and your people. Then you will be rid of the frogs, and there will be none left except in the Nile.”

¹⁰The king answered, “Pray for me tomorrow.”

Moses said, “I will do as you ask, and then you will know that there is no other god like the Lord, our God. ¹¹You, your officials, and your people will be rid of the frogs, and there will be none left except in the Nile.” ¹²Then Moses and Aaron left the king, and Moses prayed to the Lord to take away the frogs which he had brought on the king. ¹³The Lord did as Moses asked, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died. ¹⁴The Egyptians piled them up in great heaps, until the land stank with them. ¹⁵When the king saw that the frogs were dead, he became stubborn again and, just as the Lord had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

¹⁶The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to strike the ground with his stick, and all over the land of Egypt the dust will change into gnats.” ¹⁷So Aaron struck the ground with his stick, and all the dust in Egypt was turned into gnats, which covered the people and the animals. ¹⁸The magicians tried to use their magic to make gnats appear, but they failed. There were gnats everywhere, ^19*and the magicians said to the king, “God has done this!” But the king was stubborn and, just as the Lord had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.