²⁰Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Get up early in the morning. Talk to Pharaoh as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘The Lord says, “Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me. ²¹If you do not let my people go, I will send large numbers of flies. I will send them on you and your officials. I will send them on your people and into your homes. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies. Even the area where they live will be full of flies.

²²“ ‘ “But on that day I will treat the area of Goshen differently from yours. That is where my people live. There will not be large numbers of flies in Goshen. Then you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. ²³I will treat my people differently from yours. The miraculous sign will take place tomorrow.” ’ ”

²⁴So the Lord did it. Huge numbers of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace. They came into the homes of his officials. All over Egypt the flies destroyed the land.

²⁵Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. He said to them, “Go. Offer sacrifices to your God here in the land.”

²⁶But Moses said, “That wouldn’t be right. The sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God wouldn’t be accepted by the Egyptians because of their beliefs. Suppose we offered sacrifices they couldn’t accept. Then they would throw stones at us and try to kill us. ²⁷We have to take a journey that lasts about three days. We want to go into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, exactly as he commands us.”

²⁸Pharaoh said, “I will let you and your people go to offer sacrifices. You can offer them to the Lord your God in the desert. But you must not go very far. And pray for me.”

²⁹Moses replied, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord. Tomorrow the flies will leave you. They will also leave your officials and your people. Just be sure you don’t try to trick us again. Let the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ³¹And the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh, his officials and his people. Not one fly remained. ³²But Pharaoh’s heart became stubborn that time also. He wouldn’t let the people go.

The Plague on Livestock

9Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Go to Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, “Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me. ²Do not refuse to let them go. Do not keep holding them back.

³“ ‘ “If you refuse, my powerful hand will bring a terrible plague on you. I will strike your livestock in the fields. I will strike your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. ⁴But I will treat Israel’s livestock differently from yours. No animal that belongs to the people of Israel will die.” ’ ”

⁵The Lord set a time for the plague. He said, “Tomorrow I will send it on the land.” ⁶So the next day the Lord sent it. All of the livestock of the Egyptians died. But not one animal that belonged to the Israelites died.

⁷Pharaoh sent people to find out what had happened. They discovered that not even one animal that belonged to the Israelites had died. But his heart was still very stubborn. He wouldn’t let the people go.

The Plague of Boils

⁸Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, “Take handfuls of ashes from a furnace. Have Moses toss them into the air in front of Pharaoh. ⁹The ashes will turn into fine dust all over the whole land of Egypt. Then boils will break out on people and animals all over the land. Their bodies will be covered with them.”

¹⁰So Moses and Aaron took ashes from a furnace and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses tossed them into the air. Then boils broke out on people and animals alike. ¹¹The bodies of all of the Egyptians were covered with boils. The magicians couldn’t stand in front of Moses because of the boils that were all over them.

¹²But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn. Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

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