Exodus 8:9–32:1

⁹Moses said to Pharaoh, “You can have the honor of setting the time for me to pray. I will pray for you, your officials and your people. I’ll pray that the frogs will leave you and your homes. The only frogs left will be the ones in the Nile River.”

¹⁰“Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

Moses replied, “It will happen just as you say. Then you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹The frogs will leave you and your houses. They will leave your officials and your people. They will remain only in the Nile River.”

¹²Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh. Then Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. ¹³And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, courtyards and fields. ¹⁴The Egyptians piled them up. The land smelled very bad because of them.

¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that the frogs were dead, his heart became stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Gnats

¹⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Tell Aaron, ‘Reach your wooden staff out. Strike the dust on the ground with it.’ Then all over the land of Egypt the dust will turn into gnats.”

¹⁷So they did it. Aaron reached out the staff that was in his hand. He struck the dust on the ground with it. The dust all over the land of Egypt turned into gnats. They landed on people and animals alike.

¹⁸The magicians tried to produce gnats by doing their magic tricks. But they couldn’t. The gnats stayed on people and animals alike.

¹⁹The magicians said to Pharaoh, “God’s powerful finger has done this.” But Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn. He wouldn’t listen, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Flies

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.

The Plague of Hail

¹³Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Get up early in the morning. Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, “Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me.

¹⁴“ ‘ “If you do not let them go, I will send the full force of my plagues against you this time. They will strike your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in the whole earth.

¹⁵“ ‘ “By now I could have reached out my hand. I could have struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. ¹⁶But I had a special reason for making you king. I decided to show you my power. I wanted my name to become known everywhere on earth.

¹⁷“ ‘ “But you are still against my people. You will not let them go. ¹⁸So at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm ever to fall on Egypt in its entire history.

¹⁹“ ‘ “Give an order now to bring your livestock inside to a safe place. Bring in everything that is outside. The hail will fall on all of the people and animals that are left outside. They will die.” ’ ”

²⁰The officials of Pharaoh who had respect for what the Lord had said obeyed him. They hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside.

²¹But others didn’t pay attention to what the Lord had said. They left their slaves and livestock outside.

²²Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Reach your hand out toward the sky. Then hail will fall all over Egypt. It will beat down on people and animals alike. It will strike everything that is growing in the fields of Egypt.”

²³Moses reached his wooden staff out toward the sky. Then the Lord sent thunder and hail. Lightning flashed down to the ground. The Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴Hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in Egypt’s entire history.

²⁵All over Egypt hail struck everything in the fields. It fell on people and animals alike. It beat down everything that was growing in the fields. It tore all of the leaves off the trees.

²⁶The only place it didn’t hail was in the area of Goshen. That’s where the people of Israel were.

²⁷Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “This time I’ve sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord has done what is right. I and my people have done what is wrong. ²⁸Pray to the Lord, because we’ve had enough thunder and hail. I’ll let you and your people go. You don’t have to stay here any longer.”

²⁹Moses replied, “When I’ve left the city, I’ll lift up my hands and pray to the Lord. The thunder will stop. There won’t be any more hail. Then you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰But I know that you and your officials still don’t have any respect for the Lord God.”

³¹The barley was ripe. The flax was blooming. So they were both destroyed. ³²But the wheat and spelt weren’t destroyed. That’s because they ripen later.

³³Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He lifted up his hands and prayed to the Lord. The thunder and hail stopped. The rain didn’t pour down on the land any longer.

³⁴Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had stopped. So he sinned again. He and his officials made their hearts stubborn. ³⁵So Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn. He wouldn’t let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

The Plague of Locusts

10Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. I have made his heart stubborn. I have also made the hearts of his officials stubborn so I can do my miraculous signs among them. ²Then you will be able to tell your children and grandchildren how hard I was on the Egyptians. You can tell them I did great miracles among the people of Egypt. And all of you will know that I am the Lord.”

³So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They said to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How long will you refuse to obey me? Let my people go. Then they will be able to worship me.

⁴“ ‘If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. ⁵They will cover the ground so that it can’t be seen. They will eat what little you have left after the hail. That includes every tree that is growing in your fields. ⁶They will fill your houses. They will be in the homes of all of your officials and your people. Your parents and your people before them have never seen anything like it as long as they have lived here.’ ” Then Moses turned around and left Pharaoh.

⁷Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How…