²⁰Then the Lord said to Moses, “Early in the morning, stand in Pharaoh’s way when he’s going to the Nile. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go to worship me. ²¹If you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The homes of the Egyptians will be filled with flies, and even the ground outside will be covered with them. ²²But on that day I will treat the region of Goshen differently. That is where my people live. There won’t be any flies there. This way you will know that I, the Lord, am here in this land. ²³I will distinguish between my people and yours. This miraculous sign will happen tomorrow.’ ”

²⁴The Lord did what he said. Dense swarms of flies came into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials. All over Egypt the flies were ruining everything. ²⁵Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in this country.”

²⁶Moses replied, “It wouldn’t be right to do that. The sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God are disgusting to Egyptians. If they see us offer sacrifices that they consider disgusting, won’t they stone us to death? ²⁷We need to travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he told us to do.”

²⁸Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, but don’t go very far. You may offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert and pray for me.”

²⁹Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord. Tomorrow the swarms of flies will go away from you, your officials, and your people. But you must stop tricking us by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ³¹The Lord did what Moses asked. The swarms of flies left Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not one fly was left. ³²Yet, this time, too, Pharaoh was stubborn and did not let the people go.

9TH CHAPTER

The Fifth Plague—Death of Livestock

¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go to worship me. ²If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them ⸤in slavery⸥, ³the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock, including your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. ⁴But the Lord will distinguish between Israel’s livestock and the livestock of the Egyptians. No animals belonging to the Israelites will die.’ ” ⁵The Lord set a definite time. He said, “Tomorrow I will do this.”

⁶The next day the Lord did as he said. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but none of the Israelites’ animals died. ⁷Pharaoh found out that not one of the Israelites’ animals had died. Yet, Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague—Boils

⁸Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take a handful of ashes from a kiln, and have Moses throw them up in the air as Pharaoh watches. ⁹They will become a fine dust throughout Egypt. The dust will cause boils to break into open sores on people and animals throughout Egypt.”

¹⁰They took ashes from a kiln and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses threw the ashes up in the air, and they caused boils to break into open sores on people and animals. ¹¹The magicians couldn’t compete with Moses because they had boils like all the other Egyptians.

¹²But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, so he wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had predicted to Moses.

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