Part 70

7:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Pharao’s heart is hardened, he will not let the people go.

7:15. Go to him in the morning, behold he will go out to the waters: and thou shalt stand to meet him on the bank of the river: and thou shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned into a serpent.

7:16. And thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to thee, saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in the desert: and hitherto thou wouldst not hear.

7:17. Thus therefore saith the Lord: In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold I will strike with the rod, that is in my hand, the water of the river, and it shall be turned into blood.

7:18. And the fishes that are in the river, shall die, and the waters shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted when they drink the water of the river.

7:19. The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod; and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers, and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.

7:20. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded: and lifting up the rod, he struck the water of the river before Pharao and his servants: and it was turned into blood.

7:21. And the fishes that were in the river died; and the river corrupted, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river, and there was blood in all the land of Egypt.

7:22. And the magicians of the Egyptians with their enchantments did in like manner; and Pharao’s heart was hardened, neither did he hear them, as the Lord had commanded.

7:23. And he turned himself away, and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to it this time also.

7:24. And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

7:25. And seven days were fully ended, after that the Lord struck the river.

Exodus Chapter 8

The second plague is of frogs: Pharao promiseth to let the Israelites go, but breaketh his promise. The third plague is of sciniphs. The fourth is of flies. Pharao again promiseth to dismiss the people, but doth it not.

8:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

8:2. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will strike all thy coasts with frogs.

8:3. And the river shall bring forth an abundance of frogs; which shall come up and enter into thy house, and thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the houses of thy servants, and to thy people, and into thy ovens, and into the remains of thy meats:

8:4. And the frogs shall come in to thee, and to thy people, and to all thy servants.

8:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch forth thy hand upon the streams, and upon the rivers and the pools, and bring forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.

8:6. And Aaron stretched forth his hand upon the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

8:7. And the magicians also, by their enchantments, did in like manner, and they brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.

8:8. But Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Pray ye to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

Pray ye to the Lord, etc.... By this it appears, that though the magicians, by the help of the devil, could bring frogs, yet they could not take them away: God being pleased to abridge in this the power of Satan. So we see they could not afterwards produce the lesser insects; and in this restraint of the power of the devil, were forced to acknowledge the finger of God.

8:9. And Moses said to Pharao: Set me a time when I shall pray for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs may be driven away from thee and from thy house, and from thy servants, and from thy people; and may remain only in the river.

8:10. And he answered: To morrow. But he said: I will do according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like to the Lord our God.

8:11. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy house, and from thy servants, and from thy people; and shall remain only in the river.

8:12. And Moses and Aaron went forth from Pharao: and Moses cried to the Lord for the promise, which he had made to Pharao concerning the frogs.

8:13. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses: and the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of the fields: