Exodus 8:4

The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The Lord speaks through Moses to Pharaoh, declaring the escalation of the plague as the frogs leave the Nile and enter occupied spaces.

The words — The Hebrew יַעֲל֖וּ (ya.'a.Lu) translates literally as “they will go up,” paired with הַֽ/צְפַרְדְּעִֽים (Ha/tz.far.de.'Im), “the frogs,” marking the direction of the judgment from the water into the homes of the people and their officials.

The thread — This pattern of divine judgment on leadership appears in Psalms 107:40, Isaiah 19:11, and Isaiah 19:22, where foreign rulers face contempt, foolish counsel, and striking before turning to God.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that divine authority operates directly upon both rulers and the ruled, demanding recognition of God's power to invade and judge human systems without mediation.

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

וּבְכָ֥הu./ve./Khahand/ on/ youוּֽבְעַמְּךָ֖u./ve./'a.me./Khaand/ on/ people/ your וּבְכָל־u./ve./Khol-and/ on/ all עֲבָדֶ֑יךָ'a.va.Dei./khaservants/ your יַעֲל֖וּya.'a.Luthey will go up הַֽצְפַרְדְּעִֽים׃Ha/tz.far.de.'Imthe/ frogs

King James Version

And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

Cross-references

Psalms 107:40 He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
Isaiah 19:11 The princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”?
Isaiah 19:22 And the LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; He will strike them but heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and He will hear their prayers and heal them.
Isaiah 23:9 The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.
Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
Acts 12:22 And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”