1
The LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: Let my people go, that they may worship me;
2
if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will afflict all your territory with frogs.
3
The frogs shall swarm in the Nile, and they shall come up and enter your palace, your bedroom, yes, even into your bed, into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.
4
The frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.’”
5
The LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’”
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Then 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 with their secret arts, and they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8
Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people; then I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.”
9
Moses said to Pharaoh, “Please tell me when I should pray for you, for your servants, and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and from your houses, and remain only in the Nile.”
10
He said, “Tomorrow.” And Moses said, “As you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.
11
The frogs shall be removed from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people; they shall remain only in the Nile.”
12
Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the LORD concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh.
13
And the LORD did as Moses had said, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.
14
They were gathered together in heaps, and the land stank.
15
But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
16
The LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.’”
17
Then they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and the gnats came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.
18
The magicians also did the same with their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So the gnats came upon man and beast.
19
Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them — just as the LORD had spoken.
20
The LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: Let my people go, that they may serve me;
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for if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you, on your servants, on your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians, and even the ground on which they stand, shall be full of swarms of flies.
22
But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land.
23
I will make a distinction between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.'”
24
The LORD did so; and great swarms of flies came into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his servants, and throughout all the land of Egypt; the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.
25
Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”
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But Moses said, “It would not be right for us to do so, for the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?
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We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.”
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So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Pray for me.”
29
Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you, and I will pray to the LORD, and the swarms of flies shall depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; only let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”
30
After that Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD.
31
And the LORD did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; not one remained.
32
But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart; he did not let the people go.
🐸🦟🪰 Summary of Exodus 8
Exodus 8 continues the account of God’s plagues on Egypt, namely the second plague (frogs), the third plague (gnats), and the fourth plague (flies). This shows the increasing power of the Lord over nature and the helplessness of the Egyptian magicians.
1. The Second Plague: Frogs (verses 1–15)
- The Lord told Moses to warn Pharaoh: “Let My people go.”
- When Pharaoh refused, frogs came up in great numbers from the Nile, entering houses, bedrooms, kitchens, and ovens.
- The Egyptian magicians could also imitate it, but they could not stop the plague.
- Pharaoh asked Moses to pray that the Lord would remove the frogs, and promised to let the Israelites go.
- Moses prayed, the frogs died, but Pharaoh hardened his heart again.
2. The Third Plague: Gnats (verses 16–19)
- The Lord told Aaron to strike the dust of the ground with his staff, and the dust became gnats that attacked people and animals.
- The magicians could not imitate this plague, and they admitted:
“This is the finger of God!”
- Yet Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen.
3. The Fourth Plague: Flies (verses 20–32)
- The Lord sent great swarms of flies into the houses of the Egyptians and their land, but not into the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.
- Pharaoh was briefly softened and asked Moses to offer sacrifices only in Egypt, but Moses refused.
- After Pharaoh promised to let the people of God go, Moses prayed, and the flies disappeared.
- But once again, Pharaoh broke his promise and hardened his heart.
📖 Main Teaching
- The Lord is patient, giving warning after warning so that people may repent.
- Miracles do not always change a hardened heart.
- God’s power is greater than every power of sorcery or human strength.
- Partial obedience is not true obedience in the Lord’s sight.
- The Lord set His people apart (in Goshen) as a special protection.
✨ Spiritual Meaning
- Frogs, gnats, and flies—small and ordinary things—were used by the Lord as instruments of judgment. This shows that the Lord is sovereign over both great and small things.
- When the Egyptian magicians gave up, it became an indirect acknowledgment that only the Lord is true.
- These plagues show that the Lord desires the human heart to repent, not merely to submit because of suffering.
- Pharaoh is a picture of the rebellious human heart even after being given many opportunities.
