So God told Moses, "Have Aaron hit the ground with his stick." So Aaron hit the ground with his stick and the dust turned into gnats. When Pharaoh's magicians tried to make more gnats appear, they could not, so they told the king, "God has done this." But king Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let the Israelite people go.

So God told Moses, "Go meet Pharaoh at the river and tell him, 'Let my people go. If you don't, I will send flies on the land. But there will be no flies in Goshen, where the Israelite people live.'" When Pharaoh refused, God sent flies on the land like He said He would. So the king called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Offer your sacrifices to God here in this country." But Moses said, "We sacrifice animals that the Egyptians won't kill and if they saw us kill them, they might stone us. We must go on a three-day journey, like God said." So Pharaoh said, "I'll let you go, but don't go very far." Then Moses prayed and God took away the flies. When Pharaoh saw that the flies were gone, he changed his mind again and wouldn't let the people go.

So God told Moses, "Go tell Pharaoh, 'Let my people go. If you don't, I will send a disease on your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. But none of the Israelite's animals will die." When Pharaoh refused, God sent the disease on the Egyptians' animals and they died. Then the king sent to find out about the Israelites' animals and he learned that they were all well. But he was stubborn and would not let the Israelite people go.

So God told Moses "Throw some dust in the air and boils will break out whenever it touches people." So Moses went to Pharaoh and did what God said and boils broke out on people everywhere. Pharaoh's magicians couldn't even stand before him because they were covered with boils. But still Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let the people go.

So God told Moses, "Go tell Pharaoh, 'Let my people go. If you don't, I will punish you. I could have destroyed you by now. But I have let you live to show my power and so that the whole world might hear how great I am. Tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm Egypt has ever seen." When Moses told Pharaoh this, some of his servants were afraid, and brought their slaves and animals indoors to save them. But other servants didn't believe and left their slaves and animals outside. The next day Moses raised his stick in the air and God sent thunder, lightning and hail. It was the worst storm that the Egyptians had ever seen. It destroyed the flax and barley crops. But hail didn't fall in Goshen, where the Israelite people lived. So Pharaoh called for Moses and said, "I've sinned. Pray for God to stop this hail. I will let the people go." But after God stopped the hail, Pharaoh changed his mind again, and would not let the people go.

So God told Moses, "Go tell Pharaoh, 'Let my people go. If you don't, I will send grasshoppers to eat up the rest of your crops." When Moses told Pharaoh this, the king's servants said, "How long is this man going to give us trouble? Let the Israelite men go worship their God. Don't you know Egypt is ruined?" So Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron to come back. He said, "You may go worship your God. But who will go?" Moses answered, "We will all go, including our children and our old people, and we will take our animals with us." Then the king said, "No! Only your men may go." And he drove Moses and Aaron out of his house. So Moses raised his stick in the air and that night a wind blew grasshoppers all over the land. There were so many grasshoppers that the ground turned black with them. They ate up everything that the hail had not destroyed. Then the king called for Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned! Pray to God to take away this punishment." So Moses prayed to God and God took away the grasshoppers. But Pharaoh still would not let the Israelite people go.

So God told Moses, "Raise your hand toward the sky." When Moses raised his hand, God sent a thick darkness over the land of Egypt. For three days it was so dark that everyone stayed in his house. But there was light in Goshen, where the Israelites lived. So the king called for Moses and said, "You may go and worship your God. Your women and children may go too, but leave your animals here." But Moses answered, "No, we must take our animals. We will not know which animals to sacrifice until we get there and God tells us. This made Pharaoh angry and he said, "Get out of my sight! Don't let me see you again. If I do, you will die!" Then Moses became very angry and said, "Like you say, you will never see me again! But listen to what God says: 'About midnight I will go through Egypt and every first-born son in Egypt will die, from the king's son to the son of the slave woman who grinds grain. And all the first-born of your livestock will die. There will be loud crying all over Egypt. But among the Israelites, not even a dog will bark.'" And Moses said, "Then all these servants of yours will come to me and bow down before me and say, 'Please take your people and go away.' Then I will go." And Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.