Chapter 8
1 And HaShem said unto Moses: 'Say unto Aaron:
Stretch forth thy hand with thy rod over the rivers, over the canals, and over
the pools, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.'
2 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt;
and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
3 And the magicians did in like manner with their secret
arts, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
4 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said: 'Entreat
HaShem, that He take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let
the people go, that they may sacrifice unto HaShem.'
5 And Moses said unto Pharaoh: 'Have thou this glory over me;
against what time shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy
people, that the frogs be destroyed from thee and thy houses, and remain in the
river only?'
6 And he said: 'Against to-morrow.' And he said: 'Be it
according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like unto HaShem
our G-d.
7 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.'
8 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried
unto HaShem concerning the frogs, which He had brought upon Pharaoh.
9 And HaShem did according to the word of Moses; and the
frogs died out of the houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields.
10 And they gathered them together in heaps; and the land
stank.
11 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened
his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as HaShem had spoken.
12
And HaShem said unto Moses: 'Say unto Aaron: Stretch out thy rod, and smite the
dust of the earth, that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.'
13 And they did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his
rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and there were gnats upon man, and upon
beast; all the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.
14 And the magicians did so with their secret arts to bring
forth gnats, but they could not; and there were gnats upon man, and upon beast.
15 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh: 'This is the finger
of G-d'; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as
HaShem had spoken.
16 And HaShem 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 HaShem: Let My people go, that they may
serve Me.
17 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.
18 And I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in
which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end that
thou mayest know that I am HaShem in the midst of the earth.
19 And I will put a division between My people and thy
people--by to-morrow shall this sign be.'
20 And HaShem did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies
into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses; and in all the land of
Egypt the land was ruined by reason of the swarms of flies.
21 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said: 'Go
ye, sacrifice to your G-d in the land.'
22 And Moses said: 'It is not meet so to do; for we shall
sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to HaShem our G-d; lo, if we
sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not
stone us?
23 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and
sacrifice to HaShem our G-d, as He shall command us.'
24 And Pharaoh said: 'I will let you go, that ye may
sacrifice to HaShem your G-d in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far
away; entreat for me.'
25 And Moses said: 'Behold, I go out from thee, and I will
entreat HaShem that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his
servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully
any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to HaShem.'
26 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated HaShem.
27 And HaShem 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.
28 And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did
not let the people go.
Sources: Portions copyright © 1997 by Benyamin Pilant, All Rights Reserved
JPS Electronic Edition, based on the 1917 JPS translation, Copyright © 1998 by Larry Nelson, All Rights Reserved
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