Exodus 8:9–32:1

⁹Moses answered Pharaoh, “You may have the honor of choosing when I should pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then the frogs will leave you and your homes. The only ones left will be those in the Nile.” 

¹⁰“Pray for me tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. 

Moses replied, “It will be as you say so that you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹The frogs will leave you, your homes, your officials, and your people. The only frogs left will be those in the Nile.” 

¹²After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses prayed to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. ¹³The Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the yards, and in the fields. ¹⁴They were piled into countless heaps, and the land began to stink because of them. 

¹⁵When Pharaoh saw that the plague was over, he became stubborn and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had predicted. 

The Third Plague—Gnats

¹⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Hold out your staff and strike the dust on the ground. All over Egypt the dust will turn into gnats.’ ” 

¹⁷When Moses told him, Aaron held out the staff in his hand and struck the dust on the ground. It turned into gnats that bit people and animals. All the dust on the ground everywhere in Egypt turned into gnats. 

¹⁸The magicians also tried to produce gnats using their magic spells, but they couldn’t do it. The gnats bit people and animals. ¹⁹So the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the hand of God!” 

Yet, Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had predicted. 

The Fourth Plague—Flies

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. 

The Seventh Plague—Hail

¹³Then the Lord said to Moses, “Early in the morning, go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go to worship me. ¹⁴Now I will send plagues that will affect you personally as well as your officials and people. This is how you will know that there is no one like me anywhere on earth. ¹⁵By now I could have used my power to kill you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. ¹⁶But I have spared you for this reason. I want to show you my power and make my name famous throughout the earth. ¹⁷You are still blocking my people from leaving. ¹⁸So, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever happened in Egypt since the beginning of its history. ¹⁹Now, send ⸤servants⸥ to bring your livestock and everything else you have indoors. All people and animals still outside and not brought in will die when the hail falls on them.’ ” 

²⁰Those members of Pharaoh’s court who listened to the Lord’s warning brought their servants and cattle indoors quickly. ²¹But those who didn’t take the Lord’s warning seriously left their servants and animals out in the open. 

²²Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward the sky, and hail will fall on people, animals, and every plant in the fields of Egypt.” 

²³When Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the Lord made it hail on Egypt. ²⁴It hailed, and lightning flashed while it hailed. This was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. ²⁵All over Egypt the hail knocked down everything that was out in the open. It struck down people, animals, and every plant in the fields and destroyed every tree in the fields. ²⁶The only place it didn’t hail was the region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived. 

²⁷Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he told them. “The Lord is right, and my people and I are wrong. ²⁸Pray to the Lord. We’ve had enough of God’s thunder and hail. I’ll let you go; you don’t have to stay here any longer.” 

²⁹Moses replied, “As soon as I’m out of the city, I’ll spread out my hands to the Lord in prayer. The thunder will stop, and there will be no more hail. This is how you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰But I know that you and your officials still don’t fear the Lord God.” 

³¹(The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was in bloom. ³²Neither the wheat nor the wild grain was damaged, because they ripen later.) 

³³As soon as he left Pharaoh and went out of the city, Moses spread out his hands to the Lord in prayer. The thunder and the hail stopped, and no more rain came pouring down on the ground. 

³⁴When Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials continued to be stubborn. ³⁵Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had predicted through Moses. 

10TH CHAPTER

The Eighth Plague—Locusts

¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. I have made him and his officials stubborn so that I can do these miraculous signs among them. ²You will be able to tell your children and grandchildren exactly how I treated the Egyptians and what miraculous signs I did among them. This is how you will all know that I am the Lord.” 

³So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself in my presence? Let my people go to worship me. ⁴If you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country. ⁵They will cover the land so that the ground can’t be seen. They will eat everything left by the hail, including every tree still standing in the fields. ⁶They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and those of all the Egyptians. Your parents and ancestors never saw anything like this from the time they first came here until now.” Moses turned and left Pharaoh. 

⁷Then Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man hold us in his grip? Let the Israelite men go to worship the Lord their God. When will you realize that Egypt is ruined?” 

⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” he said to them. “But exactly who will be going?” 

⁹Moses answered, “Everyone! We’ll be taking our young and old, our sons and daughters, our flocks and herds with us. For us it’s a pilgrimage festival in the Lord’s honor.” 

¹⁰Pharaoh said to them, “The Lord would have to be with you if I would ever let you take your women and children along. I know you’re up to no good! ¹¹No! Only the men may go to worship the Lord, since that’s what you’ve been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were thrown out of Pharaoh’s palace. 

¹²The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over…