Exodus 8:18

Spiritual warfare

¹⁶ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’”

¹⁷ This they did, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, gnats came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt.

The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.

¹⁹ “This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

²⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and when Pharaoh goes out to the water, stand before him and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.
KJV: And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
WEB: The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on man, and on animal.
ASV: And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: and there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
DARBY: And the scribes did so with their sorceries, to bring forth gnats; but they could not. And the gnats were on man and on beast.
BLB: And the magicians with their secret arts did so to bring forth the gnats, and they could not. And the gnat was on the man and on the beast.

ÅB: Tegnsutleggerne gjorde likeså med sine hemmelige kunster; de søkte å få mygg fram, men kunne ikke. Og myggene ble sittende på folk og på fe.
OTB: Trollmennene forsøkte å frembringe mygg med sine hemmelige kunster, men de kunne ikke. Det var mygg på mennesker og dyr overalt.
B1930: Tegnsutleggerne gjorde likeså med sine hemmelige kunster; de søkte å få mygg frem, men kunde ikke. Og myggene blev sittende på folk og på fe.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Exodus 7:11
But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.
Read in context
Exodus 9:11
The magicians could not stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and on all the Egyptians.
Read in context
Daniel 5:8
So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.
Read in context
Daniel 4:7
When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, and they could not interpret it for me.
Read in context
Luke 10:18
So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Read in context
Daniel 2:10–11
The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.
Read in context
Isaiah 19:12
Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and reveal what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt.
Read in context
Isaiah 47:12–13
So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!
Read in context