Exodus 8:20-30

20 And the Lord said to Moses, Get up early in the morning and take your place before Pharaoh when he comes out to the water; and say to him, This is what the Lord says: Let my people go to give me worship.

21 For if you do not let my people go, see, I will send clouds of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into their houses; and the houses of the Egyptians and the land where they are will be full of flies.

22 And at that time I will make a division between your land and the land of Goshen where my people are, and no flies will be there; so that you may see that I am the Lord over all the earth.

23 And I will put a division between my people and your people; tomorrow this sign will be seen.

24 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.

25 And Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said, Go and make your offering to your God here in the land.

26 And Moses said, It is not right to do so; for we make our offerings of that to which the Egyptians give worship; and if we do so before their eyes, certainly we will be stoned.

27 But we will go three days' journey into the waste land and make an offering to the Lord our God as he may give us orders.

28 Then Pharaoh said, I will let you go to make an offering to the Lord your God in the waste land; but do not go very far away, and make prayer for me.

29 And Moses said, When I go out from you I will make prayer to the Lord that the cloud of flies may go away from Pharaoh and from his people and from his servants tomorrow: only let Pharaoh no longer by deceit keep back the people from making their offering to the Lord.

30 Then Moses went out from Pharaoh and made prayer to the Lord.

Exodus 8:20-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 8

In this chapter Pharaoh is threatened with the plague of frogs, in case he refused to let Israel go, which accordingly was brought upon him, Ex 8:1-6 and though the magicians did something similar to it, yet these were so troublesome to Pharaoh, that he promised to let the people go, and sacrifice to God, if they removed; and a time being fixed for the removal of them, it was accordingly done at the entreaty of Moses and Aaron, Ex 8:7-14 but there being a respite, Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and the plague of lice is ordered, and which was executed; and though this the magicians essayed to do, and could not, but owned it to be the finger of God, yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened, Ex 8:15-19 wherefore he is threatened with a swarm of flies, which should not infest Goshen, only the places where the Egyptians dwelt, and it was so, Ex 8:20-24 upon which Pharaoh called for Moses, and declared himself willing the people would sacrifice in the land; but this not being satisfactory, he agreed they should go into the wilderness, but not so far; and on the account of the entreaty of Moses, the plague was removed; but still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not let the people go, Ex 8:25-32.