CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Exodus 8
Chapter 8 of 40
Chapter Overview
What happens in Exodus 8
Three more plagues strike Egypt in rapid succession: frogs cover the land, dust turns into gnats, and thick swarms of flies invade. Pharaoh begins making promises to let Israel go, but breaks them each time the plague is removed.
Scripture
Exodus 8
The Second Plague: Frogs
Study note
God sent a plague of frogs that covered every part of Egypt — homes, bedrooms, ovens, and food bowls. The Egyptians worshipped a frog-headed goddess named Heqet, so this plague mocked their religion. Egypt's magicians could also produce frogs, but they could not get rid of them. For the first time, Pharaoh asked Moses to pray to God. Moses let Pharaoh choose when the frogs would die to prove God's power. But as soon as the frogs were gone, Pharaoh hardened his heart again.
1 Then the Lord told Moses, "Go back to Pharaoh and tell him, 'The Lord says this: Let my people go so they can worship me.'" And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2 "If you refuse, I will bring a plague of frogs that will cover your entire country." And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
3 "Frogs will swarm up out of the Nile River. They will pour into your palace and crawl into your bedroom and all over your bed. They will invade the houses of your officials and your people. They will get into your ovens and your bread dough." And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs:
4 "The frogs will be crawling all over you, all over your people, and all over your officials." And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
5 The Lord instructed Moses, "Tell Aaron to raise his staff and hold it out over the rivers, the canals, and the ponds. Bring frogs swarming up over the whole land of Egypt." And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
6 Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and up came the frogs — covering every part of the land. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
7 But the magicians did the same thing with their dark arts and brought up even more frogs onto the land. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and pleaded, "Ask the Lord to get rid of these frogs — from me and from my people. If he does that, I will let your people go to sacrifice to the Lord." Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.
9 Moses replied to Pharaoh, "I will give you the honor of choosing the timing. When would you like me to pray for you, your officials, and your people? When should the frogs disappear from you and your homes, leaving only those in the river?" And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
10 "Do it tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses answered, "It will be just as you ask. That way you will know for certain that nobody is like the Lord our God." And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.
11 "The frogs will leave you alone. They will vacate your houses, your officials' homes, and your people's homes. The only ones left will be in the river." And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.
12 Moses and Aaron left the palace. Then Moses begged the Lord to take away the frogs he had sent on Pharaoh. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.
13 The Lord answered Moses' prayer. Frogs died everywhere — inside houses, out in courtyards, and across the fields. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.
14 The people raked them up into enormous piles, and the rotting frogs made the entire land stink. And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
15 But once Pharaoh saw the frogs were gone, he hardened his heart all over again. He broke his promise and refused to let the people leave, exactly as the Lord had predicted. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
The Third Plague: Gnats
Study note
Without any warning to Pharaoh, Aaron struck the dust of the ground with his staff, and the dust turned into tiny biting insects throughout all of Egypt. This time the magicians tried to copy the miracle but could not. They told Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God,' admitting that a power greater than their magic was at work. Still, Pharaoh refused to listen.
16 The Lord told Moses, "Give Aaron this instruction: Strike the ground with your staff. The dust of the earth will turn into swarms of gnats throughout all of Egypt." And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
17 That is exactly what happened. Aaron lifted his staff and struck the dust. Gnats swarmed onto every person and every animal in the country. All the dust across Egypt became gnats. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
18 The magicians tried to copy this miracle with their dark arts, but they completely failed. The gnats were everywhere — on people and animals alike. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
19 The magicians told Pharaoh, "This is God's own doing!" But Pharaoh's heart stayed hard, and he still would not listen, just as the Lord had said. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
The Fourth Plague: Flies
Study note
God sent dense swarms of flies into Pharaoh's palace, his officials' homes, and throughout Egypt. But this time God made an important distinction: the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, had no flies at all. This proved the plagues were not random acts of nature but were controlled by God. Pharaoh tried to negotiate, offering to let the Israelites sacrifice inside Egypt. Moses refused. Then Pharaoh said they could go, but not far. Moses prayed, the flies left, and Pharaoh broke his promise once again.
20 Then the Lord told Moses, "Get up very early tomorrow and meet Pharaoh when he heads to the water. Deliver this message from the Lord: 'Let my people go so they can worship me.'" And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
21 "Because if you do not release my people, I will unleash massive swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and every house. Flies will blacken the homes of Egypt, and even the ground will be covered with them." Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.
22 "But I will handle the land of Goshen differently — that is where my people live. No flies will be found there at all. This will prove to you that I, the Lord, have power right here in this land." And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
23 "I will draw a clear line between my people and your people. You will see this miracle happen tomorrow." And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
24 And the Lord did exactly that. Enormous swarms of flies invaded Pharaoh's palace and the homes of his officials. The flies wrecked everything throughout the whole country of Egypt. And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.
25 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and offered, "Fine — go sacrifice to your God. But stay here in this land to do it." And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
26 Moses shook his head. "We cannot do that. The animals we sacrifice to the Lord our God are considered sacred by the Egyptians. If we slaughter those animals before them, they will stone us to death." And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
27 "We need to travel three days into the desert. We must offer our gifts to the Lord our God. He told us how to do it." We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.
28 Pharaoh conceded, "All right, I will let you go sacrifice to the Lord your God in the desert. Do not go too far. And pray for me while you are at it." And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.
29 Moses said, "The moment I leave, I will pray to the Lord. Tomorrow the flies will be gone — from you, your officials, and your people. But Pharaoh, you must not trick us again by going back on your word and keeping the people here." And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.
30 Moses walked out of the palace and prayed to the Lord. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD.
31 The Lord granted Moses' request. He cleared away every last fly from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not one fly remained. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart yet again and would not let the people leave. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
Key Themes
Themes in Exodus 8
God's power over creationThe futility of bargaining with GodPharaoh's empty promises and hard heartGod makes a distinction between His people and others
Apply This Today
Living Exodus 8
Pharaoh repeatedly promised to let Israel go, then changed his mind once the pressure was removed. It is easy to make promises to God during a crisis and forget them when things improve. True faith means following through on our commitments to God in both hard times and good times.
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