Thematic Bible: Plague


Thematic Bible



Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David replied, "To buy from you the threshing floor so I can build an altar for the Lord, so that the plague may be removed from the people."

Then David built an altar for the Lord there and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. And the Lord accepted prayers for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.

So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba.

But while the meat was still between their teeth, before they chewed it, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague.


Jehoram received this letter from Elijah the prophet: "This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: 'You have not followed in the footsteps of your father Jehoshaphat and of King Asa of Judah, but have instead followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. You encouraged the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to be unfaithful to the Lord, just as the family of Ahab does in Israel. You also killed your brothers, members of your father's family, who were better than you. So look, the Lord is about to severely afflict your people, your sons, your wives, and all you own. read more.
And you will get a serious, chronic intestinal disease which will cause your intestines to come out."


Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you! So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only take this death away from me." Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, read more.
and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not release the Israelites.


The Lord said to Moses, "Extend your hand toward heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness so thick it can be felt." So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. No one could see another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.


So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord did as Moses asked -- he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained! But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not release the people.


Just then one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of the whole community of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up from among the assembly, took a javelin in his hand, and went after the Israelite man into the tent and thrust through the Israelite man and into the woman's abdomen. So the plague was stopped from the Israelites. read more.
Those that died in the plague were 24,000. The Lord spoke to Moses: "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, when he manifested such zeal for my sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in my zeal. Therefore, announce: 'I am going to give to him my covenant of peace. So it will be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of a permanent priesthood, because he has been zealous for his God, and has made atonement for the Israelites.'" Now the name of the Israelite who was stabbed -- the one who was stabbed with the Midianite woman -- was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of a clan of the Simeonites. The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur. He was a leader over the people of a clan of Midian.

After the plague the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest,


And the Lord sent a plague on the people because they had made the calf -- the one Aaron made.


The men whom Moses sent to investigate the land, who returned and made the whole community murmur against him by producing an evil report about the land, those men who produced the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord.

I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from being their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and caused you to walk upright. "'If, however, you do not obey me and keep all these commandments -- if you reject my statutes and abhor my regulations so that you do not keep all my commandments and you break my covenant -- read more.
I for my part will do this to you: I will inflict horror on you, consumption and fever, which diminish eyesight and drain away the vitality of life. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you. You will be struck down before your enemies, those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when there is no one pursuing you. "'If, in spite of all these things, you do not obey me, I will discipline you seven times more on account of your sins. I will break your strong pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze. Your strength will be used up in vain, your land will not give its yield, and the trees of the land will not produce their fruit. "'If you walk in hostility against me and are not willing to obey me, I will increase your affliction seven times according to your sins. I will send the wild animals against you and they will bereave you of your children, annihilate your cattle, and diminish your population so that your roads will become deserted.

"If you refuse to obey all the words of this law, the things written in this scroll, and refuse to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants -- great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses. He will infect you with all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will persistently afflict you. read more.
Moreover, the Lord will bring upon you every kind of sickness and plague not mentioned in this scroll of commandments, until you have perished. There will be very few of you left, though at one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky, because you will have disobeyed the Lord your God.

They made an image of a calf at Horeb, and worshiped a metal idol. They traded their majestic God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They rejected the God who delivered them, the one who performed great deeds in Egypt, read more.
amazing feats in the land of Ham, mighty acts by the Red Sea. He threatened to destroy them, but Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him and turned back his destructive anger. They rejected the fruitful land; they did not believe his promise. They grumbled in their tents; they did not obey the Lord. So he made a solemn vow that he would make them die in the desert, make their descendants die among the nations, and scatter them among foreign lands. They worshiped Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. They made the Lord angry by their actions, and a plague broke out among them.

After these things I saw another angel, who possessed great authority, coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance. He shouted with a powerful voice: "Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. For all the nations have fallen from the wine of her immoral passion, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior." read more.
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues, because her sins have piled up all the way to heaven and God has remembered her crimes. Repay her the same way she repaid others; pay her back double corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her. As much as she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, 'I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!' For this reason, she will experience her plagues in a single day: disease, mourning, and famine, and she will be burned down with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!"

I testify to the one who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.


These two have the power to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the time they are prophesying. They have power to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague whenever they want.

I testify to the one who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

Then I saw another great and astounding sign in heaven: seven angels who have seven final plagues (they are final because in them God's anger is completed).

and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, dressed in clean bright linen, wearing wide golden belts around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, and the temple was filled with smoke from God's glory and from his power. Thus no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues from the seven angels were completed.


This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.

He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, including both men and animals. He performed awesome deeds and acts of judgment in your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.


It happened at midnight -- the Lord attacked all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the prison, and all the firstborn of the cattle. Pharaoh got up in the night, along with all his servants and all Egypt, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no house in which there was not someone dead.

So you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your regiments out from the land of Egypt, and so you must keep this day perpetually as a lasting ordinance.

Moses said, "Thus says the Lord: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There will be a great cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. read more.
But against any of the Israelites not even a dog will bark against either people or animals, so that you may know that the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.'


then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants -- great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses.

"'If you walk in hostility against me and are not willing to obey me, I will increase your affliction seven times according to your sins.


David felt guilty after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, "I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly." When David got up the next morning, the Lord had already spoken to Gad the prophet, David's seer: "Go, tell David, 'This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.'" read more.
Gad went to David and told him, "Shall seven years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemy with him in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide what I should tell the one who sent me." David said to Gad, "I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!" So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba. When the angel extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment. He told the angel who was killing the people, "That's enough! Stop now!" (Now the Lord's angel was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.) When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, "Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep -- what have they done? Attack me and my family." So Gad went to David that day and told him, "Go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." So David went up as Gad instructed him to do, according to the Lord's instructions. When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants approaching him, he went out and bowed to the king with his face to the ground. Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David replied, "To buy from you the threshing floor so I can build an altar for the Lord, so that the plague may be removed from the people." Araunah told David, "My lord the king may take whatever he wishes and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges and harnesses for wood. I, the servant of my lord the king, give it all to the king!" Araunah also told the king, "May the Lord your God show you favor!" But the king said to Araunah, "No, I insist on buying it from you! I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver. Then David built an altar for the Lord there and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. And the Lord accepted prayers for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.


But on the next day the whole community of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the Lord's people!" When the community assembled against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting -- and the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. Then Moses and Aaron stood before the tent of meeting. read more.
The Lord spoke to Moses: "Get away from this community, so that I can consume them in an instant!" But they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take the censer, put burning coals from the altar in it, place incense on it, and go quickly into the assembly and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord -- the plague has begun!" So Aaron did as Moses commanded and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague was just beginning among the people. So he placed incense on the coals and made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Now 14,700 people died in the plague, in addition to those who died in the event with Korah. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the plague was stopped.


The Lord said to Moses, "Extend your hand toward heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness so thick it can be felt." So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. No one could see another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.


The Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to release the people. Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water. Position yourself to meet him by the edge of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake. Tell him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say, "Release my people, that they may serve me in the desert!" But until now you have not listened. read more.
Thus says the Lord: "By this you will know that I am the Lord: I am going to strike the water of the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood. Fish in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile."'" Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt's waters -- over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their reservoirs -- so that it becomes blood.' There will be blood everywhere in the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers." Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord had commanded. Moses raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. When the fish that were in the Nile died, the Nile began to stink, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood everywhere in the land of Egypt! But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts, and so Pharaoh's heart remained hard, and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron -- just as the Lord had predicted. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not pay any attention to this. All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the Nile. Seven full days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.


The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Extend your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.'" They did so; Aaron extended his hand with his staff, he struck the dust of the ground, and it became gnats on people and on animals. All the dust of the ground became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt. When the magicians attempted to bring forth gnats by their secret arts, they could not. So there were gnats on people and on animals. read more.
The magicians said to Pharaoh, "It is the finger of God!" But Pharaoh's heart remained hard, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.


The Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display these signs of mine before him, and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell how I made fools of the Egyptians and about my signs that I displayed among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord." So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, "Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: 'How long do you refuse to humble yourself before me? Release my people so that they may serve me! read more.
But if you refuse to release my people, I am going to bring locusts into your territory tomorrow. They will cover the surface of the earth, so that you will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped -- what is left over for you -- from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field. They will fill your houses, the houses of your servants, and all the houses of Egypt, such as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since they have been in the land until this day!'" Then Moses turned and went out from Pharaoh. Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a menace to us? Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not know that Egypt is destroyed?" So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve the Lord your God. Exactly who is going with you?" Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our sheep and our cattle we will go, because we are to hold a pilgrim feast for the Lord." He said to them, "The Lord will need to be with you if I release you and your dependents! Watch out! Trouble is right in front of you! No! Go, you men only, and serve the Lord, for that is what you want." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence. The Lord said to Moses, "Extend your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up over the land of Egypt and eat everything that grows in the ground, everything that the hail has left." So Moses extended his staff over the land of Egypt, and then the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all night. The morning came, and the east wind had brought up the locusts! The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory of Egypt. It was very severe; there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. They covered the surface of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them, and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you! So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only take this death away from me." Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not release the Israelites.


I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. So now, send instructions to gather your livestock and all your possessions in the fields to a safe place. Every person or animal caught in the field and not brought into the house -- the hail will come down on them, and they will die!"'" Those of Pharaoh's servants who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their servants and livestock into the houses, read more.
but those who did not take the word of the Lord seriously left their servants and their cattle in the field. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Extend your hand toward the sky that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on people and on animals, and on everything that grows in the field in the land of Egypt." When Moses extended his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire fell to the earth; so the Lord caused hail to rain down on the land of Egypt. Hail fell and fire mingled with the hail; the hail was so severe that there had not been any like it in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. The hail struck everything in the open fields, both people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt. The hail struck everything that grows in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces. Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was there no hail. So Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, "I have sinned this time! The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are guilty. Pray to the Lord, for the mighty thunderings and hail are too much! I will release you and you will stay no longer." Moses said to him, "When I leave the city I will spread my hands to the Lord, the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God." (Now the flax and the barley were struck by the hail, for the barley had ripened and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are later crops.) So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain stopped pouring on the earth. When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder ceased, he sinned again: both he and his servants hardened their hearts.


The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord.


Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Thus says the Lord: "Release my people in order that they may serve me! But if you refuse to release them, then I am going to plague all your territory with frogs. The Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will come up and go into your house, in your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading troughs. read more.
Frogs will come up against you, your people, and all your servants."'" The Lord spoke to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Extend your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the ponds, and bring the frogs up over the land of Egypt.'" So Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. The magicians did the same with their secret arts and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt too. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to the Lord that he may take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will release the people that they may sacrifice to the Lord." Moses said to Pharaoh, "You may have the honor over me -- when shall I pray for you, your servants, and your people, for the frogs to be removed from you and your houses, so that they will be left only in the Nile?" He said, "Tomorrow." And Moses said, "It will be as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. The frogs will depart from you, your houses, your servants, and your people; they will be left only in the Nile." Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord because of the frogs that he had brought on Pharaoh. The Lord did as Moses asked -- the frogs died out of the houses, the villages, and the fields. The Egyptians piled them in countless heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.


Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a furnace, and have Moses throw it into the air while Pharaoh is watching. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and will cause boils to break out and fester on both people and animals in all the land of Egypt." So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh, Moses threw it into the air, and it caused festering boils to break out on both people and animals. read more.
The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted to Moses.


They inquired, "What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?" They replied, "The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders. You should make images of the sores and images of the mice that are destroying the land. You should honor the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his grip on you, your gods, and your land.


those men who produced the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord.


But while the meat was still between their teeth, before they chewed it, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague.


Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people that they may serve me! For if you refuse to release them and continue holding them, then the hand of the Lord will surely bring a very terrible plague on your livestock in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. read more.
But the Lord will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing will die of all that the Israelites have."'" The Lord set an appointed time, saying, "Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land." And the Lord did this on the next day; all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but of the Israelites' livestock not one died. Pharaoh sent representatives to investigate, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of Israel had died. But Pharaoh's heart remained hard, and he did not release the people.


So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died.


The Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and position yourself before Pharaoh as he goes out to the water, and tell him, 'Thus says the Lord, "Release my people that they may serve me!


Seven full days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.


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