One Year Pray for America Bible - Flipbook - Page 121
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frogs came up and covered the whole
land! 7 But the magicians were able to
do the same thing with their magic.
They, too, caused frogs to come up on
the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pha
raoh summoned M
oses
and A
aron and begged, “Plead with
the Lord to take the frogs away from
me and my people. I will let your
people go, so they can offer sacrifices
to the Lord.”
9 “You set the time!” Moses replied.
“Tell me when you want me to pray for
you, your officials, and your people.
Then you and your houses will be rid
of the frogs. They will remain only in
the Nile River.”
10 “Do it tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
“All right,” Moses replied, “it will be
as you have said. Then you will know
that there is no one like the Lord our
God. 11 The frogs will leave you and
your houses, your officials, and your
people. They will remain only in the
Nile River.”
12 So M
oses and A
aron left Pharaoh’s
palace, and M
oses cried out to the
Lord about the frogs he had inflicted
on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did just
what Moses had predicted. The frogs
in the houses, the courtyards, and the
fields all died. 14 The Egyptians piled
them into great heaps, and a terrible
stench filled the land. 15 But when Pha
raoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn.* He refused to listen
to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord
had predicted.
16 So the Lord said to M
oses, “Tell
Aaron, ‘Raise your staff and strike
the ground. The dust will turn into
swarms of gnats throughout the land
of Egypt.’” 17 So Moses and Aaron did
just as the Lord had commanded
them. When Aaron raised his hand
and struck the ground with his staff,
gnats infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals.
All the dust in the land of Egypt
turned into gnats. 18 Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same thing with
their secret arts, but this time they
failed. And the gnats covered every
one, people and animals alike.
January 29
19 “This
is the finger of God!” the
magicians exclaimed to Pharaoh. But
Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He
wouldn’t listen to them, just as the
Lord had predicted.
20 Then the Lord told Moses, “Get
up early in the morning and stand
in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to
the river. Say to him, ‘This is what the
Lord says: Let my people go, so they
can worship me. 21 If you refuse, then
I will send swarms of flies on you,
your officials, your people, and all
the houses. The Egyptian homes will
be filled with flies, and the ground
will be covered with them. 22 But this
time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies
will be found there. Then you will
know that I am the Lord and that I
am present even in the heart of your
land. 23 I will make a clear distinction
between* my people and your people.
This
miraculous sign will happen
tomorrow.’”
24 And the Lord did just as he had
said. A thick swarm of flies filled Pha
raoh’s palace and the houses of his
officials. The whole land of Egypt was
thrown into chaos by the flies.
25 Pha
raoh called for M
oses and
Aaron. “All right! Go ahead and offer
sacrifices to your God,” he said. “But
do it here in this land.”
26 But Moses replied, “That wouldn’t
be right. The Egyptians detest the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our
God. Look, if we offer our sacrifices
here where the Egyptians can see us,
they will stone us. 27 We must take a
three-day trip into the wilderness to
offer sacrifices to the Lord our God,
just as he has commanded us.”
28 “All right, go ahead,” Pharaoh replied. “I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord
your God. But don’t go too far away.
Now hurry and pray for me.”
29
Moses answered, “As soon as I
leave you, I will pray to the Lord,
and tomorrow the swarms of flies will
disappear from you and your officials
and all your people. But I am warning
you, Pharaoh, don’t lie to us again and
