Moses & The 10 plagues (Part 1): Book of Exodus (Part 5)

Moses had performed the first miracle before Pharaoh, and the magic of the Lord had bested the magic of Pharaoh's magicians, yet Pharaoh would not let his slaves, the Israelites, go. Thus, the next morning, and as directed by the Lord, Moses confronted Pharaoh as he went out to the Nile river, and he said to him, Up till now you have refused to heed the words of the Lord, the God of the Hebrews. Therefore, with the staff that is in my hand, I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. There the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers and canals and ponds and reservoir, that they may become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone. And Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded, for Aaron raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the land of Egypt. However, the magicians of Egypt soon arrived, and by their magic hearts they were able to perform the miracle of changing water into blood, just as Moses and Aaron had done. Thus, Pharaoh saw no reason to listen to Moses and Aaron, and his heart remained as hard as ever, but he returned to his palace and dismissed the whole incident. The Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, since they could not drink the water of the river, and seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt. So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But again the magicians of Egypt came and were able to perform the same miracle, for by their magic arts they also brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt. The Nile teemed with frogs, and the frogs came up into Pharaoh's palace, into the houses of his officials and all the people of Egypt, into their bedrooms and onto their beds and into their ovens and kneading bowls. Thus, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord. And Moses said to Pharaoh, I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people, so that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile. And Pharaoh said to him, Do it tomorrow. And Moses replied, It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God. The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people. They will remain only in the Nile. And indeed, after Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses prayed to the Lord about the frogs, and the Lord answered, For the frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. The Egyptians piled the dead frogs into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land. However, when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart again and would not listen to Moses and Aaron. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt. And it was done. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt. Once again, the magicians of Egypt tried to perform the same miracle of producing gnats from the dust of the earth, using their magic arts. But this time they could not. And alas, the gnats remained on man and beast. Thus the magicians said to Pharaoh, This is the handwork of God. Yet Pharaoh would not listen to them. And so the Lord brought forth another plague, the plague of flies. For 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. As the Lord would have it, all the while the land of Egypt had been suffering from the plagues. There were no plagues in the land of Goshen where the Israelites dwelt. So again, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land. But Moses replied, I'm afraid that would not be right, for the sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness And Pharaoh said to him, I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me. And Moses answered, As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord. And so Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord about the flies, and the flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Not even a single fly remained. But as soon as there was relief, Pharaoh again hardened his heart and would not let his slaves, the Israelites, go. Thus, the Lord sent Moses to warn Pharaoh that another plague would befall the land of Egypt if Pharaoh continued to be stubborn. And it happened, as the Lord said, For the next day the Lord struck all the livestock of the Egyptians with a terrible sickness, and all the livestock of the Egyptians died. However, not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. And Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate and found that indeed none of the livestock of the Israelites had died. Yet Pharaoh's heart remained hard. He would not let the people go. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on man and beast throughout the land. So Moses took soot from the furnace, and standing before Pharaoh, he tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on man and beast. The magicians of Egypt could not stand before Moses to perform their magic as they had done before, for the boils had broken out on them as well, and was causing them terrible discomfort. Yet Pharaoh would not yield, and his heart remained as hard as ever. And the Lord sent Pharaoh another warning, for he said to him, I could stretch out my hand and strike you and all your people with a plague that would wipe you off the earth. But I have spared you and raised you for a purpose, to show you my power, that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. Still, you lord it over my people, and will not allow them to go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow, I will send the worst hailstorm that the land of Egypt has ever seen from the day it was founded until now. Give orders now to shelter your livestock and everything you have in the field, for every man or beast that remains in the field and is not brought inside will die when the hail comes down upon them. Hearing the words of the Lord, those among Pharaoh's officials who feared the word of the Lord hurried out to bring their servants and livestock to shelter, but those who ignored the word of the Lord left their servants and livestock in the field. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that hail may fall on the land of Egypt, on man and beast, and on every plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord rained down hail and storm upon Egypt. Lightning flashed back and forth, and thunder struck the land like never before. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. Alas, the hail struck down everything that was exposed in the fields, both man and beast. It beat down every plant of the field and stripped every tree. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. Thus Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Pray to the Lord, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go. You do not need to stay any longer. And Moses said to him, Very well. When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord, and the thunder will cease. There will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord's. But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the Lord our God. So Moses departed from Pharaoh, went out of the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord. And the thunder and hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials.