Exodus

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.

1The LORD spoke to Moses. "Go to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Tell him the LORD says this: Let my people go, so they can worship me."

2And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:

2"If you will not let them go, I will fill your whole land with frogs."

3And 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:

3"The river will swarm with frogs. They will hop into your house, your bedroom, and onto your bed. They will get into the houses of your helpers and onto your people. They will get into your ovens and your bread bowls."

4And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

4"The frogs will climb on you, on your people, and on all your helpers."

5And 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.

5The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron this: Hold out your hand with your walking stick over the rivers, streams, and ponds. Make frogs come up onto the land of Egypt."

6And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

6So Aaron held out his hand over the waters of Egypt. Frogs came up and covered the whole land.

7And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.

7But the magicians did the same thing with their magic. They also brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.

8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat 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.

8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. He said, "Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go to worship the LORD."

9And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat 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?

9Moses said to Pharaoh, "You may choose the time. That honor is yours. When should I pray for you, your helpers, and your people? Then the frogs will leave you and your houses. Only the ones in the river will stay."

NoteThe old wording here is "Glory over me." It is a polite way of saying, "You pick the time, not me."

10And 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.

10Pharaoh said, "Tomorrow." Moses said, "It will be just as you say. Then you will know that no one is like the LORD our God."

11And 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.

11"The frogs will leave you, your houses, your helpers, and your people. They will stay only in the river."

12And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.

12Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh. Then Moses called out to the LORD about the frogs he had sent against Pharaoh.

13And 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.

13The LORD did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the yards, and in the fields.

14And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.

14People piled the dead frogs up in big heaps. The whole land smelled terrible.

15But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

15But Pharaoh saw that the trouble had stopped. So he made himself stubborn again and would not listen to them. It happened just as the LORD had said.

NoteThe old Bible says Pharaoh "hardened his heart." That means he decided to stay stubborn on purpose.

16And 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.

16The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron this: Hold out your stick and hit the dust on the ground. The dust will turn into tiny biting bugs all over Egypt."

NoteThe old Bible calls these bugs "lice." The word means tiny biting insects, like gnats.

17And 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.

17They did it. Aaron held out his hand with his stick and hit the dust. The bugs came onto people and animals. All the dust in the land turned into bugs all over Egypt.

18And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

18The magicians tried to make bugs with their magic, but they could not. The bugs stayed on the people and the animals.

19Then 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.

19The magicians said to Pharaoh, "God himself did this." But Pharaoh stayed stubborn and would not listen to them. It happened just as the LORD had said.

20And 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.

20The LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning. Pharaoh will come down to the water. Stand in front of him. Tell him the LORD says this: Let my people go, so they can worship me."

21Else, 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.

21"If you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies. They will come on you, your helpers, your people, and your houses. Egyptian houses will be full of flies, and so will the ground they stand on."

22And 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.

22"But that day I will treat Goshen differently, where my people live. No swarms of flies will be there. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am here in this land."

23And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

23"I will make a clear difference between my people and your people. This sign will happen tomorrow."

24And 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.

24The LORD did it. Thick swarms of flies filled Pharaoh's house and his helpers' houses. All over Egypt, the flies ruined the land.

25And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

25Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. He said, "Go and worship your God, but stay here inside Egypt."

26And 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?

26Moses said, "That would not be right. The animals we offer to the LORD our God are ones the Egyptians hate to see killed. If we do that in front of them, they will throw stones at us."

NoteThe old Bible says the Egyptians would find this an "abomination." That means they hated it very much.

27We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.

27"We must walk three days into the empty land. There we will worship the LORD our God, just as he tells us."

28And 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: intreat for me.

28Pharaoh said, "I will let you go worship the LORD your God in the empty land. But do not go very far. Now pray for me."

29And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat 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.

29Moses said, "I am leaving you now, and I will pray to the LORD. Tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh, his helpers, and his people. But Pharaoh must not trick us again. He must let the people go and worship the LORD."

30And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.

30So Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD.

31And 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.

31The LORD did what Moses asked. He took the flies away from Pharaoh, his helpers, and his people. Not one fly was left.

32And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

32But Pharaoh made himself stubborn this time too. He would not let the people go.