Exodus 8 · Parashat Vaera

And the Lord spoke to Moshe, Say to Aharon, Stretch forth thy hand with thy rod over the streams, over the canals, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Miżrayim.

And Aharon stretched out his hand over the waters of Miżrayim. And the frogs came up, and covered the land of Miżrayim.

And the magicians did so with their secret arts, and brought up frogs on the land of Miżrayim.

Then Par῾o called to Moshe and Aharon, 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 to the Lord.

And Moshe said to Par῾o, Challenge me to fix a time when I should 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?

And he said, Tomorrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayst know that there is none like the Lord our God.

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.

And Moshe and Aharon went out from Par῾o: and Moshe cried to the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Par῾o.

And the Lord did according to the word of Moshe; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields.

And they gathered them together in heaps: and the land stank.

But when Par῾o saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not to them; as the Lord had said.

And the Lord said to Moshe, Say to Aharon, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may turn into lice throughout all the land of Miżrayim.

And they did so; for Aharon 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 Miżrayim.

And the magicians did so with their secret arts to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice on man and beast.

Then the magicians said to Par῾o, This is the finger of God: and Par῾o’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not to them; as the Lord had said.

And the Lord said to Moshe, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Par῾o; lo he comes forth to the water; and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of gnats upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of Miżrayim shall be full of swarms of gnats, and also the ground on which they are.

And I will separate in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of gnats shall be there; to the end that thou mayst know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

And I will put a division between my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be.

And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous swarm of gnats into the house of Par῾o, and into his servants’ houses; and in all the land of Miżrayim the land was devastated by reason of the swarm of gnats.

And Par῾o called for Moshe and for Aharon, and said, Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.

And Moshe said, It is not proper so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of Miżrayim to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of Miżrayim before their eyes, and will they not stone us?

We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us.

And Par῾o 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: entreat for me.

And Moshe said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the Lord that the swarm of gnats may depart from Par῾o, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow: but let not Par῾o deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

And Moshe went out from Par῾o, and entreated the Lord.

And the Lord did according to the word of Moshe; and he removed the swarm of gnats from Par῾o, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.

And Par῾o hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.