²“ ‘ “If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. ³The Nile River will be full of frogs. They will come up into your palace. You will have frogs in your bedroom and on your bed. They will be in the homes of your officials and your people. They will be in your ovens and in your bread pans. ⁴The frogs will be on you, your people and all of your officials.” ’ ”

⁵Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Tell Aaron, ‘Reach your hand out. Hold your staff over the streams, waterways and ponds. Make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”

⁶So Aaron reached his hand out over the waters of Egypt. The frogs came up and covered the land. ⁷But the magicians did the same things by doing their magic tricks. They also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. He said to them, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I’ll let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

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.

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