Thematic Bible: Plague of


Thematic Bible



This is what the Lord says: Here is how you will know that I am the Lord. Watch. I will strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, and it will turn to blood. The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from it." So the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt-over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs-and they will become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone [containers]." read more.
Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and didn't even take this to heart. All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink the water from the river. Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.

He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.

He turned their water into blood
and caused their fish to die.


But if you will not let My people go, then I will send swarms of flies against you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The Egyptians' houses will swarm with flies, and so will the land where they live. But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people are living; no flies will be there. This way you will know that I, the Lord, am in the land. I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow." read more.
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. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Go sacrifice to your God within the country." But Moses said, "It would not be right to do that, because what we will sacrifice to the Lord our God is detestable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what the Egyptians detest in front of them, won't they stone us? We must go a distance of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He instructs us." Pharaoh responded, "I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don't go very far. Make an appeal for me." "As soon as I leave you," Moses said, "I will appeal to the Lord, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceptively again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the Lord." Then Moses left Pharaoh's presence and appealed to the Lord. The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left.

He sent among them swarms of flies,
which fed on them,
and frogs, which devastated them.

He spoke, and insects came
gnats throughout their country.


But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs. The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials." read more.
The Lord then said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt." When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt. Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Ask the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to the Lord." Moses said to Pharaoh, "Make the choice rather than me [by saying] when I should ask for you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile." "Tomorrow," he answered. Moses replied, "As you have said, so you may know there is no one like the Lord our God, the frogs will go away from you, your houses, your officials, and your people. The frogs will remain only in the Nile." After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh. The Lord did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died. They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land.

Their land was overrun with frogs,
even in their royal chambers.


He spoke, and insects came
gnats throughout their country.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt." And they did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and when he struck the dust of the earth, gnats were on the people and animals. All the dust of the earth became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on the people and animals. read more.
"This is the finger of God," the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.


Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of Mine among them, and so that you may tell your son and grandson how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am the Lord." So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, "This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may worship Me. read more.
But if you refuse to let My people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. They will cover the surface of the land so that no one will be able to see the land. They will eat the remainder left to you that escaped the hail; they will eat every tree you have growing in the fields. They will fill your houses, all your officials' houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians-something your fathers and ancestors never saw since the time they occupied the land until today." Then he turned and left Pharaoh's presence. Pharaoh's officials asked him, "How long must this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Don't you realize yet that Egypt is devastated?" So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the Lord your God," Pharaoh said. "But exactly who will be going?" Moses replied, "We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds because we must hold the Lord's festival." He said to them, "May the Lord be with you if I [ever] let you and your families go! Look out-you are planning evil. No, only the men may go and worship the Lord, for that is what you have been asking for." And they were driven from Pharaoh's presence. The Lord then said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt and the locusts will come up over it and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail left." So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord sent an east wind over the land all that day and through the night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts. The locusts went up over the entire land of Egypt and settled on the whole territory of Egypt. Never before had there been such a large number of locusts, and there will never be again. They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt. Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to the Lord your God, so that He will take this death away from me." Moses left Pharaoh's presence and appealed to the Lord. Then the Lord changed the wind to a strong west wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.

He spoke and locusts came- young locusts without number. They devoured all the vegetation in their land and consumed the produce of their soil.


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