Bible Strands
Exodus 8:21
But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground where they stand will be full of flies.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks through Moses to Pharaoh during the fourth plague, following the command to confront him at the Nile. The declaration functions as a conditional warning before the execution of the judgment.
The words — הִנְנִי (hi.nnî) translates as "behold" or "here I am," and מַשְׁלִיחַ (mash.lîach) means "I am about to send," framing the imminent action. The conditional אִם (ʾim) "if" establishes the stipulation that triggers the plague.
The thread — The event is recorded in Psalms 78:45 and Psalms 105:31 as historical judgment, while Isaiah 7:18 repurposes the imagery of flies as a metaphor for foreign invasion.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment of divine sovereignty through the selective distribution of plague. It requires the reader to confront the direct link between the release of God's people and the demonstration of His authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.
Cross-references
- Psalms 78:45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
- Psalms 105:31 He spoke, and insects swarmed—gnats throughout their country.
- Isaiah 7:18 On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.