The Second Plague: Frogs
The LORD sends Moses to Pharaoh with the same demand and a new warning: if he refuses, frogs will pour out of the Nile and invade the whole country. The plague is described in close, ordinary detail, touching bed, house, and kitchen.
T1hen the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 2But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. 3The Nile will teem with frogs, and they will come into your palace and up to your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. 4The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”
Aaron stretches out his staff as commanded, and frogs cover the land of Egypt. The magicians imitate the sign, but the plague itself remains and spreads.
5And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’” 6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7But the magicians did the same thing by their magic arts, and they also brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh asks Moses and Aaron to pray for the frogs to be removed and offers release in return. Moses lets Pharaoh name the time, and the answer is set for the next day so Egypt may know there is no one like the LORD.
8Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.” 9Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and your officials and your people that the frogs (except for those in the Nile) may be taken away from you and your houses?” 10“Tomorrow,” Pharaoh answered. 11“May it be as you say,” Moses replied, “so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”
Moses cries to the LORD, the frogs die, and the land fills with their stench. Yet when Pharaoh sees relief, he hardens his heart and refuses to listen, just as the LORD had said.
12After Moses and Aaron had left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD for help with the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh. 13And the LORD did as Moses requested, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died. 14They were piled into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land. 15When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.