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And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith Hashem, Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

(7:27) And if thou refuse to let them go, hinei, I will strike all thy borders with tzefardaya:

(7:28) And the river shall bring forth tzefardaya abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine bais, and into thy cheder mishkav, and upon thy bed, and into the bais of thy avadim, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading bowls:

(7:29) And the tzefardaya shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy avadim.

(8:1) And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, Say unto Aharon, Stretch forth thine yad with thy matteh over the streams, over the rivers, and ponds, and cause tzefardaya to come up upon Eretz Mitzrayim.

(8:2) And Aharon stretched out his yad over the waters of Mitzrayim; and the tzefardaya came up, and covered Eretz Mitzrayim.

(8:3) And the kharetumim did so with their secret lore, and brought up tzefardaya upon Eretz Mitzrayim.

(8:4) Then Pharaoh called for Moshe and Aharon, and said, Entreat Hashem, that He may take away the tzefardaya from me, and from My people; and I will let HaAm go, that they may do sacrifice unto Hashem.

(8:5) And Moshe said unto Pharaoh, Please thyself over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy avadim, and for thy people, to destroy the tzefardaya from thee and thy batim (houses), that they may remain in the Nile only?

10 (8:6) And he said, Tomorrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto Hashem Eloheinu.

11 (8:7) And the tzefardaya shall depart from thee, from thy batim, from thy avadim, and from thy people; they shall remain in the Nile only.

12 (8:8) And Moshe and Aharon went out from Pharaoh: and Moshe cried unto Hashem because of the tzefardaya which He had brought against Pharaoh.

13 (8:9) And Hashem did according to the word of Moshe; and the tzefardaya died out of the batim (houses), out of the khatzerot, and out of the sadot.

14 (8:10) And they gathered them together upon heaps; and the land stank.

15 (8:11) But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his lev, and paid heed not unto them; as Hashem had said.

16 (8:12) And Hashem said unto Moshe, Say unto Aharon, Stretch out thy matteh, and smite the aphar ha’aretz, that it may become kinim throughout kol Eretz Mitzrayim.

17 (8:13) And they did so; for Aharon stretched out his yad with his matteh, and smote the aphar ha’aretz, and it became kinim in adam, and in behemah; all the aphar ha’aretz became kinim throughout kol Eretz Mitzrayim.

18 (8:14) And the kharetumim did so with their secret lore to bring forth kinim, but they could not: so there were kinim upon adam, and upon behemah.

19 (8:15) Then the kharetumim said unto Pharaoh, This is the Etzba Elohim (Finger of G-d): and the lev Pharaoh was hardened, and he paid heed not unto them; as Hashem had said.

20 (8:16) And Hashem said unto Moshe, Rise up early in the boker, and stand before Pharaoh; hinei, he cometh forth to the mayim; and say unto him, Thus saith Hashem, Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

21 (8:17) Else, if thou wilt not let My people go, hineni, I will send swarms of arov upon thee, and upon thy avadim, and upon thy people, and into thy batim (houses); and the batim (houses) of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of arov, and also the ground whereon they are.

22 (8:18) And I will deal differently in that day with Eretz Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of arov shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am Hashem in the midst of the earth.

23 (8:19) And I will put a distinction between My people and thy people; tomorrow shall this Ot be.

24 (8:20) And Hashem did so; there came a grievous swarm of arov into the bais Pharaoh, into batim of his avadim, into kol Eretz Mitzrayim; the land was corrupted from the swarm of arov.

25 (8:21) And Pharaoh called for Moshe, for Aharon, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to Eloheichem in the land.

26 (8:22) And Moshe said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the to’avot Egyptians to Hashem Eloheinu; lo, shall we sacrifice the to’avot Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?

27 (8:23) We will go derech shloshet yamim into the midbar, and sacrifice to Hashem Eloheinu, as He shall command us.

28 (8:24) And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to Hashem Eloheichem in the midbar; only ye shall not go very far away; entreat for me.

29 (8:25) And Moshe said, Hinei, I go out from thee, and I will entreat Hashem that the swarms of arov may depart from Pharaoh, from his avadim, and from his people, tomorrow; but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Hashem.

30 (8:26) And Moshe went out from Pharaoh, and entreated Hashem.

31 (8:27) And Hashem did according to the devar Moshe; and He removed the swarms of arov from Pharaoh, from his avadim, from his people; there remained not one.

32 (8:28) And Pharaoh hardened his lev at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

[a]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(A) me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs(B) on your whole country. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people,(C) and into your ovens and kneading troughs.(D) The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff(E) over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs(F) come up on the land of Egypt.’”

So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs(G) came up and covered the land. But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts;(H) they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray(I) to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices(J) to the Lord.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time(K) for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”

10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God.(L) 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

12 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did what Moses asked.(M) The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. 14 They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief,(N) he hardened his heart(O) and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Gnats

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff(P) and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” 17 They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats(Q) came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. 18 But when the magicians(R) tried to produce gnats by their secret arts,(S) they could not.

Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, 19 the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger(T) of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart(U) was hard and he would not listen,(V) just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Flies

20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning(W) and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(X) me. 21 If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.

22 “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen,(Y) where my people live;(Z) no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know(AA) that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction[b] between my people and your people.(AB) This sign will occur tomorrow.’”

24 And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.(AC)

25 Then Pharaoh summoned(AD) Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”

26 But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians.(AE) And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must take a three-day journey(AF) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(AG) to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”

28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray(AH) for me.”

29 Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully(AI) again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

30 Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord,(AJ) 31 and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. 32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart(AK) and would not let the people go.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-4 is numbered 7:26-29, and 8:5-32 is numbered 8:1-28.
  2. Exodus 8:23 Septuagint and Vulgate; Hebrew will put a deliverance