Exodus 8:20–9:12

²⁰And Jehovah saith unto Moses, ‘Rise early in the morning, and station thyself before Pharaoh, lo, he is going out to the waters, and thou hast said unto him, Thus said Jehovah, Send My people away, and they serve Me; ²¹for, if thou art not sending My people away, lo, I am sending against thee, and against thy servants, and against thy people, and against thy houses, the beetle, and the houses of the Egyptians have been full of the beetle, and also the ground on which they are.

²²‘And I have separated in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people are staying, that the beetle is not there, so that thou knowest that I am Jehovah in the midst of the land, ²³and I have put a division between My people and thy people: to-morrow is this sign.’ ²⁴And Jehovah doth so, and the grievous beetle entereth the house of Pharaoh, and the house of his servants, and in all the land of Egypt the land is corrupted from the presence of the beetle. ²⁵And Pharaoh calleth unto Moses and to Aaron, and saith, ‘Go, sacrifice to your God in the land;’ ²⁶and Moses saith, ‘Not right to do so, for the abomination of the Egyptians we do sacrifice to Jehovah our God; lo, we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes—and they do not stone us! ²⁷A journey of three days we go into the wilderness, and have sacrificed to Jehovah our God, as He saith unto us.’ ²⁸And Pharaoh saith, ‘I send you away, and ye have sacrificed to Jehovah your God in the wilderness, only go not very far off; make ye supplication for me;’ ²⁹and Moses saith, ‘Lo, I am going out from thee, and have made supplication unto Jehovah, and the beetle hath turned aside from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people—to-morrow, only let not Pharaoh add to deceive—in not sending the people away to sacrifice to Jehovah.’ ³⁰And Moses goeth out from Pharaoh, and maketh supplication unto Jehovah, ³¹and Jehovah doth according to the word of Moses, and turneth aside the beetle from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people—there hath not been left one; ³²and Pharaoh hardeneth his heart also at this time, and hath not sent the people away.

Chapter 9

¹And Jehovah saith unto Moses, ‘Go in unto Pharaoh, and thou hast spoken unto him, Thus said Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, Send My people away, and they serve me, ²for, if thou art refusing to send away, and art still keeping hold upon them, ³lo, the hand of Jehovah is on thy cattle which are in the field, on horses, on asses, on camels, on herd, and on flock—a pestilence very grievous.

⁴‘And Jehovah hath separated between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and there doth not die a thing of all the sons of Israel’s; ⁵and Jehovah setteth an appointed time, saying, To-morrow doth Jehovah do this thing in the land.’ ⁶And Jehovah doth this thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt die, and of the cattle of the sons of Israel not one hath died; ⁷and Pharaoh sendeth, and lo, not even one of the cattle of Israel hath died, and the heart of Pharaoh is hard, and he hath not sent the people away.

⁸And Jehovah saith unto Moses and unto Aaron, ‘Take to you the fulness of your hands of soot of a furnace, and Moses hath sprinkled it towards the heavens, before the eyes of Pharaoh, ⁹and it hath become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and it hath become on man and on cattle a boil breaking forth with blains, in all the land of Egypt.’ ¹⁰And they take the soot of the furnace, and stand before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkleth it towards the heavens, and it is a boil with blains, breaking forth, on man and on beast; ¹¹and the scribes have not been able to stand before Moses, because of the boil, for the boil hath been on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians. ¹²And Jehovah strengtheneth the heart of Pharaoh, and he hath not hearkened unto them, as Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses.