Exodus 8:20–9:12

The Plague of Flies

²⁰And Yahweh said to Moses, “^aRise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh ¹as ^bhe comes out to the water, and you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “^cLet My people go, that they may serve Me.

²¹“For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.

²²“^aBut on that day I will make a distinction for the land of Goshen, where My people are ¹living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, that you may know that ^2bI, Yahweh, am in the midst of the land.

²³“And I will ¹put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will happen.” ’ ”

²⁴Then Yahweh did so. And there came heavy swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was ^alaid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

²⁵And Pharaoh ^acalled for Moses and Aaron and said, “^bGo, sacrifice to your God within the land.”

²⁶But Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God ¹what is ^aan abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice ²what is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us?

²⁷“We must go a ^athree days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Yahweh our God as He says to us.”

²⁸And Pharaoh said, “^aI will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. ^bEntreat for me.”

²⁹Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you, and I shall entreat Yahweh that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only may Pharaoh not ^adeal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh.”

³⁰So ^aMoses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh.

³¹And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and caused the swarms of flies to depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.

³²Then Pharaoh ¹hardened his heart with firmness this time also, and ^ahe did not let the people go.

CHAPTER 9

The Plague of Dying Egyptian Livestock

¹Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, “^aLet My people go, that they may serve Me.

²“For ^aif you refuse to let them go and ¹continue to hold them,

³behold, ^athe hand of Yahweh ¹will come with a very heavy pestilence on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks.

⁴“^aBut Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that ^bnothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.” ’ ”

⁵Yahweh also set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow Yahweh will do this thing in the land.”

⁶So Yahweh did this thing on the next day, and ^aall the livestock of Egypt died; ^bbut of the livestock of the sons of Israel, not one died.

⁷And Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not even one of the livestock of Israel dead. But ^athe heart of Pharaoh was ¹hardened with firmness, and he did not let the people go.

The Plague of Boils

⁸Then Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.

⁹“And it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and it will become ^aboils breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰So they took the soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses tossed it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on man and beast.

^11aAnd the ¹magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians ²as well as on all the Egyptians.

¹²And ^aYahweh ¹hardened Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and he did not listen to them, just as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.