Exodus 8:24

Complete Jewish Bible

Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you can sacrifice to Adonai your God in the desert. Only you are not to go very far away. Intercede on my behalf."

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Par`oh, and into his servants' houses: and in all the land of Mitzrayim the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.

King James Version
And 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.

Lexham English Bible
And Yahweh did so, and a severe swarm of flies came to the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants and in all the land of Egypt; the land was ruined because of the flies.

New Century Version
So the Lord did as he had said, and great swarms of flies came into the king's palace and his officers' houses. All over Egypt flies were ruining the land.

New English Translation
The Lord did so; a thick swarm of flies came into Pharaoh's house and into the houses of his servants, and throughout the whole land of Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.

Amplified Bible
Then the LORD did so. And there came heavy and oppressive swarms of [bloodsucking] insects into the house of Pharaoh and his servants' houses; in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted and ruined because of the [great invasion of] insects.

New American Standard Bible
Then the LORD did so. And thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Lorde did so: for there came great swarmes of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his seruants houses, so that through all the lande of Egypt, the earth was corrupt by the swarmes of flies.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Yahweh did so. And there came heavy swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord kept his promise—the palace and the homes of the royal officials swarmed with flies, and the rest of the country was infested with them as well.

Darby Translation
And Jehovah did so; and there came dog-flies in a multitude into the house of Pharaoh, and [into] the houses of his bondmen; and throughout the land of Egypt, the land was corrupted by the dog-flies.

Easy-to-Read Version
So the Lord did just what he said. Millions of flies came into Egypt. The flies were in Pharaoh's house, and they were in all his officials' houses. They were all over Egypt. The flies were ruining the country.

English Standard Version
And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.

George Lamsa Translation
And the LORD did so; and he brought great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants houses and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was ruined by reason of the swarms of flies.

Good News Translation
The Lord sent great swarms of flies into the king's palace and the houses of his officials. The whole land of Egypt was brought to ruin by the flies.

Christian Standard Bible®
And the Lord did this. Thick swarms of flies went into Pharaoh’s palace and his officials’ houses. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.

Literal Translation
And Jehovah did so. And teeming swarms of flies came into Pharaoh's house, and the house of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt. And the land was destroyed before the swarms of flies .

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the LORDE dyd so. And there came perlous cruell wormes in to Pharaos house, in to his seruauntes houses, & vpon all the londe of Egipte: and the londe was marred with noysome wormes.

American Standard Version
And Jehovah 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 corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.

Bible in Basic English
And the Lord did so; and great clouds of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses, and all the land of Egypt was made waste because of the flies.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the Lord dyd euen so, & there came an intollerable swarme of flyes into the house of Pharao, and into his seruauntes houses, and into all the land of Egypt: and the land was corrupt with these flyes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And 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; entreat for me.'

King James Version (1611)
And the Lord did so: and there came a grieuous swarme of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his seruants houses, and into all the lande of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarme of flies.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the dog-fly came in abundance into the houses of Pharao, and into the houses of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was destroyed by the dog-fly.

English Revised Version
And the LORD 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 corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.

Berean Standard Bible
And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by swarms of flies.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the Lord dide so. And a moost greuouse flie cam in to the hows of Farao, and of hise seruauntis, and in to al the lond of Egipt; and the lond was corrupt of siche flies.

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah doth so, and the grievous beetle entereth the house of Pharaoh, and the house of his servants, and in all the land of Egypt the land is corrupted from the presence of the beetle.

Update Bible Version
And Yahweh did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his slaves' houses: and in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.

Webster's Bible Translation
And 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].

World English Bible
Yahweh 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 corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.

New King James Version
And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

New Living Translation
And the Lord did just as he had said. A thick swarm of flies filled Pharaoh's palace and the houses of his officials. The whole land of Egypt was thrown into chaos by the flies.

New Life Bible
And the Lord did so. And there came a great many flies flying all over inside the house of the Pharaoh and in the houses of his servants. The land was destroyed because of the many flies in all the land of Egypt.

New Revised Standard
The Lord did so, and great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his officials' houses; in all of Egypt the land was ruined because of the flies.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Yahweh did so, and brought a grievous gad-fly unto the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants and in all the land of Egypt, and the land was laid waste by reason of the gad-fly.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord did so. And there came a very grievous swarm of flies into the houses of Pharao and of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt: and the land was corrupted by this kind of flies.

Revised Standard Version
And the LORD did so; there came great 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 flies.

THE MESSAGE
And God did just that. Thick swarms of flies in Pharaoh's palace and the houses of his servants. All over Egypt, the country ruined by flies.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the LORD did so. And there came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

Contextual Overview

²⁰ Adonai did it: terrible swarms of insects went into Pharaoh's palace and into all his servants' houses — the insects ruined the entire land of Egypt. ²¹ Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, "Go, and sacrifice to your God here in the land." ²² But Moshe replied, "It would be inappropriate for us to do that, because the animal we sacrifice to Adonai our God is an abomination to the Egyptians. Won't the Egyptians stone us to death if before their very eyes we sacrifice what they consider an abomination? ²³ No, we will go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to Adonai our God, as he has ordered us to do." ²⁴ Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you can sacrifice to Adonai your God in the desert. Only you are not to go very far away. Intercede on my behalf." ²⁵ Moshe said, "All right, I am going away from you, and I will intercede with Adonai ; so that tomorrow, the swarms of insects will leave Pharaoh, his servants and his people. Just make sure that Pharaoh stops playing games with the people by preventing them from going and sacrificing to Adonai ." ²⁶ Moshe left Pharaoh and interceded with Adonai , ²⁷ and Adonai did what Moshe had asked: he removed the swarms of insects from Pharaoh, his servants and his people — not one remained. ²⁸ But this time, too, Pharaoh made himself stubborn and didn't let the people go. ²⁹ Adonai said to Moshe, "Say to Aharon, ‘Reach out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals and ponds; and cause frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.'" Aharon put out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same with their secret arts and brought up frogs onto the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, "Intercede with Adonai to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let the people go and sacrifice to Adonai ." Moshe said to Pharaoh, "Not only that, but you can have the honor of naming the time when I will pray for you, your servants and your people to be rid of the frogs, both yourselves and your homes, and that they stay only in the river." He answered, "Tomorrow." Moshe said, "It will be as you have said, and from this you will learn that Adonai our God has no equal. (v) The frogs will leave you and your homes, also your servants and your people; they will stay in the river only." Moshe and Aharon left Pharaoh's presence, and Moshe cried to Adonai about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. Adonai did as Moshe had asked — the frogs died in the houses, courtyards and fields; they gathered them in heaps till the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that he had been given some relief, he made himself hardhearted and would not listen to them, just as Adonai had said would happen. Adonai said to Moshe, "Say to Aharon: ‘Reach out with your staff and strike the dust on the ground; it will become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.'" They did it — Aharon reached out his hand with his staff and struck the dust on the ground, and there were lice on people and animals; all the dust on the ground became lice throughout the whole land of Egypt. The magicians tried with their secret arts to produce lice, but they couldn't. There were lice on people and animals. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh was made hardhearted, so that he didn't listen to them, just as Adonai had said would happen. Adonai said to Moshe, "Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh when he goes out to the water and say to him, ‘Here is what Adonai says: "Let my people go, so that they can worship me. Otherwise, if you won't let my people go, I will send swarms of insects on you, your servants and your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of insects, and likewise the ground they stand on. But I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live — no swarms of insects will be there — so that you can realize that I am Adonai , right here in the land. (vi) Yes, I will distinguish between my people and your people, and this sign will happen by tomorrow."'" Adonai did it: terrible swarms of insects went into Pharaoh's palace and into all his servants' houses — the insects ruined the entire land of Egypt. Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, "Go, and sacrifice to your God here in the land." But Moshe replied, "It would be inappropriate for us to do that, because the animal we sacrifice to Adonai our God is an abomination to the Egyptians. Won't the Egyptians stone us to death if before their very eyes we sacrifice what they consider an abomination? No, we will go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to Adonai our God, as he has ordered us to do." Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you can sacrifice to Adonai your God in the desert. Only you are not to go very far away. Intercede on my behalf." Moshe said, "All right, I am going away from you, and I will intercede with Adonai ; so that tomorrow, the swarms of insects will leave Pharaoh, his servants and his people. Just make sure that Pharaoh stops playing games with the people by preventing them from going and sacrificing to Adonai ." Moshe left Pharaoh and interceded with Adonai , and Adonai did what Moshe had asked: he removed the swarms of insects from Pharaoh, his servants and his people — not one remained. But this time, too, Pharaoh made himself stubborn and didn't let the people go.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

there: Exodus 8:21, Psalms 78:45, Psalms 105:31

the land: How intolerable a plague of flies can prove, is evident from the fact that whole districts have been laid waste by them. The inhabitants have been forced to quit their cities, not being able to stand against the flies and gnats with which they were pestered. Hence different people had deities whose office it was to defend them against flies. Among these may be reckoned Baalzebub, the fly-god of Ekron; Hercules, muscarum abactor, Hercules the expeller of flies; and hence Jupiter had the titles of בנןלץיןע, לץיבדסןע, לץיןקןסןע, because he was supposed to expel flies, and especially clear his temples of these insects. See Bryant. Exodus 8:14

corrupted: or destroyed

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 6:5 - mice 2 Kings 1:16 - Baalzebub Psalms 107:40 - contempt Isaiah 7:18 - fly

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord did so,.... And this he did immediately of himself without any means; not by the rod of Aaron, to let the Egyptians see that there was nothing in that rod, that it had no magic virtue in it, and what was done by it was from the Lord himself, who could as well inflict plagues without it as with it; see Psalms 105:31 and there came a grievous swarm of flies; or a "heavy" q one, which was both very numerous, and very troublesome and distressing:

into the house of Pharaoh, and into the houses of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt: into the palace of Pharaoh, and into the palaces of his nobles, ministers, and courtiers, and into the dwelling places of all his subjects, throughout the whole land, excepting the land of Goshen:

the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies; Josephus r says, the land lay neglected and uncultivated by the husbandmen; it may be, the air was infected by the flies, which produced a pestilence that took off many of the inhabitants; so among the Eleans, as Pliny s reports, a multitude of flies produced a pestilence; however, it is certain many of the inhabitants of Egypt perished by them; they might sting them to death, suck their blood, and poison them with their envenomed stings; see Psalms 78:45.

q כבד "gravis", Montanus, "gravissime", V. L. r Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 2. c. 14. sect. 3.) s Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 28.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 8:24. The land was corrupted — Every thing was spoiled, and many of the inhabitants destroyed, being probably stung to death by these venomous insects. This seems to be intimated by the psalmist, "He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which DEVOURED them," Psalms 78:45.

In ancient times, when political, domestic, and personal cleanliness was but little attended to, and offal of different kinds permitted to corrupt in the streets and breed vermin, flies multiplied exceedingly, so that we read in ancient authors of whole districts being laid waste by them; hence different people had deities, whose office it was to defend them against flies. Among these we may reckon Baalzebub, the fly-god of Ekron; Hercules, muscarum abactor, Hercules, the expeller of flies, of the Romans; the Muagrus of the Eleans, whom they invoked against pestilential swarms of flies; and hence Jupiter, the supreme god of the heathens, had the epithets of Απομυιος and Μυωδης, because he was supposed to expel flies, and defend his worshippers against them. See Dodd.