The Second Plague: Frogs
1 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, p“Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with qfrogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into ryour bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people,2 and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” 5 3 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, s‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and tthe frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians udid the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, v“Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that wyou may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.4 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he xhardened his heart and would not listen to them, yas the Lord had said.
The Third Plague: Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and zthere were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, abut they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is bthe finger of God.” But cPharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, das the Lord had said.
The Fourth Plague: Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 But on that day I will eset apart the land of Goshen, fwhere my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.5 23 Thus I will put a division6 between my people and your people. Tomorrow this gsign shall happen.”’” 24 And the Lord did so. hThere came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, i“Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for jthe offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go kthree days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh lcheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 31 And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and mdid not let the people go.
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
1 Oh tgive thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 uLet Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 vOut of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 wThe Lord is xon my side; yI will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall zlook in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
athan to trust in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me blike bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard,1 so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
14 cThe Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
17 dI shall not die, but I shall live,
and erecount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has fdisciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and ggive thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 hI thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 iThe stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.2
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 jSave us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 kBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has lmade his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and mI will give thanks to you;
nyou are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
The Supremacy of God’s Son
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, awhom he appointed the heir of all things, bthrough whom also he created the world. 3 cHe is the radiance of the glory of God and dthe exact imprint of his nature, and ehe upholds the universe by the word of his power. After fmaking purification for sins, ghe sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the hname he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,
i“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”?
Or again,
j“I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son”?
6 And again, when he brings the kfirstborn into the world, he says,
l“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7 Of the angels he says,
m“He makes his angels winds,
and his ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But of the Son he says,
n“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the ooil of gladness beyond your companions.”
10 And,
p“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
they will all qwear out like a garment,
12 like a robe you will rroll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.1
But syou are the same,
and your years will have no end.”
13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,
t“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
14 Are they not all uministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to vinherit salvation?
