Frogs, Lice, and Wild Animals

1 And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Lift your hand with your staff over the streams, over the canals, and over the lakes; and the frogs shall come up on the land of Egypt.⁠a 2 And Aaron lifted up his hand over the waters of the Egyptians, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 3 And the magicians did the same with their enchantments, and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt. 4 And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, Pray before the Lord that the frogs may be removed from me and from my people; and I will release the people, so that they may sacrifice before the Lord. 5 And Moses said to Pharaoh, Ask for a miracle for yourself, and set me a time when I shall pray for you, and for your servants and your people, that the frogs may be gone from you and from your houses, and remain only in the river. 6 And he said, Tomorrow. And he said, As you say; so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 7 And the frogs shall be removed from you and from your houses and your servants and your people; they shall remain only in the river. 8 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses prayed before the Lord about the frogs which he had set for Pharaoh. 9 And the Lord did as Moses said; and the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. 10 And they gathered them into heaps upon heaps, and the land stank. 11 And Pharaoh saw that there was relief; and he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. 12 And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Lift up your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it shall become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 13 And they did so. And Aaron lifted up his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on people and on cattle; all the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 14 And the magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they could not; and there were lice on people and on animals. 15 And the magicians said to Pharaoh, This is a plague from the Lord's presence. Yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. 16 And the Lord said to Moses, Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh; look, he is going out to the water; and say to him, This is what the Lord says: Send My people away, so that they may worship before Me. 17 For if you will not send My people away, look, I will send the swarm of wild animals on you, and on your servants, and on your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with the swarm, and so shall the ground they stand on. 18 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people live, so that no swarm shall be there; so that you may know that I am the Lord who rules in the midst of the earth. 19 And I will bring redemption to My people, but the plague shall be on your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen. 20 And the Lord did so; and the swarm came in force into Pharaoh's house, and into the houses of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was ruined by the swarm. 21 And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Go, sacrifice before your God in the land. 22 But Moses said, It would not be right to do so; because the animals that the Egyptians worship are what we will take to sacrifice before the Lord our God. Look, if we sacrifice the animal that the Egyptians worship before their eyes, will they not stone us? 23 We will go a journey of three days into the desert, and sacrifice before the Lord our God, as He tells us. 24 And Pharaoh said, I will send you away, so that you may sacrifice before the Lord your God in the desert; only you shall not go very far away: pray for me too. 25 And Moses said, Look, I am going out from you, and I will pray before the Lord, and He will remove the swarm from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only let Pharaoh not deceive us again by refusing to send the people away to sacrifice before the Lord. 26 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and prayed before the Lord. 27 And the Lord did as Moses said, and removed the swarm from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 28 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and would not send the people away.