Exodus 8:20–9:12

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰And the Lord said to Moses, ^s“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^t“Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ²¹Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. ²²And in that day ^uI will set apart the land of ^vGoshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may ^wknow that I am the Lord in the midst of the ^xland. ²³I will ⁶make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this ^ysign shall be.” ’ ” ²⁴And the Lord did so. ^zThick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

²⁵Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

²⁶And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing ^athe abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not ⁷stone us? ²⁷We will go ^bthree days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as ^cHe will command us.”

²⁸So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. ^dIntercede for me.”

²⁹Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not ^edeal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰So Moses went out from Pharaoh and ^fentreated the Lord. ³¹And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. ³²But Pharaoh ^ghardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased

9Then the Lord said to Moses, ^a“Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may ^bserve Me. ²For if you ^crefuse to let them go, and still hold them, ³behold, the ^dhand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. ⁴And ^ethe Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” ⁵Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”

⁶So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and ^fall the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. ⁷Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the ^gheart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils

⁸So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause ^hboils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused ⁱboils that break out in sores on man and beast. ¹¹And the ^jmagicians could not stand before Moses because of the ^kboils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. ¹²But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he ^ldid not heed them, just ^mas the Lord had spoken to Moses.