Plagues on Egypt
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of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. There
remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also,
neither would he let the people go.”
And the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to go again before
Pharaoh and tell him, “Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let
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my people go, that they may serve me.” And if he should refuse to
let them go, and should hold them still, the plague should be upon
their cattle. “And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel
and the cattle of Egypt, and there shall nothing die of all that is the
children of Israel’s.” And all the cattle died that were visited with the
plague, but not one of the cattle of the Hebrews died. And Pharaoh
sent messengers to inquire if any of the cattle of the Israelites were
dead. The messenger returned to the king with the word that not one
of them had died, neither were they afflicted at all with the plague. Yet
his heart was hardened, and he refused to let Israel go.
Then Moses and Aaron, according to the command of God, “took
ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled
it up toward heaven, and it became a boil breaking forth with blains
upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before
Moses because of the boil, for the boil was upon the magicians, and
upon all the Egyptians. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh,
and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had spoken unto Moses.”
The magicians with all their magic, and supposed power, could
not, by any of their enchantments, shield themselves from the grievous
plague of the boils. They could no longer stand before Moses and
Aaron, because of this grievous affliction. The Egyptians were thus
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permitted to see how useless it would be for them to put their trust in
the boasted power of the magicians, when they could not save even
their own bodies from the plagues.
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and
stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of
the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at
this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants,
and upon thy people, that thou mayest know that there is none like me
in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite
thee and thy people with pestilence, and thou shalt be cut off from the
earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to
show in thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout