Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,' and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats." New Living Translation So the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Raise your staff and strike the ground. The dust will turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’” English Standard Version Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” Berean Study Bible 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.’ ” King James Bible And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. New King James Version So the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” New American Standard Bible Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may turn into gnats through all the land of Egypt.’” NASB 1995 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.'" NASB 1977 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.’” Amplified Bible Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become [biting] gnats (lice) throughout the land of Egypt.’” Christian Standard Bible Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.” Holman Christian Standard Bible Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt." American Standard Version And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the earth, that is may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Brenton Septuagint Translation And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch forth thy rod with thy hand and smite the dust of the earth; and there shall be lice both upon man, and upon quadrupeds, and in all the land of Egypt. Contemporary English Version The LORD said to Moses, "Command Aaron to strike the ground with his walking stick, and everywhere in Egypt the dust will turn into gnats." Douay-Rheims Bible And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Stretch forth thy rod, and strike the dust of the earth: and may there be sciniphs in all the land of Egypt. English Revised Version And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the earth, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Good News Translation The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron to strike the ground with his stick, and all over the land of Egypt the dust will change into gnats." GOD'S WORD® Translation Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Hold out your staff and strike the dust on the ground. All over Egypt the dust will turn into gnats.'" International Standard Version Then the LORD told Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff, strike the dust of the ground, and the dust will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.'" JPS Tanakh 1917 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Say unto Aaron: Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.' Literal Standard Version And YHWH says to Moses, “Say to Aaron, Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, and it has become gnats in all the land of Egypt.” NET Bible The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Extend your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.'" New Heart English Bible The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your rod, and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.'" World English Bible Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.'" Young's Literal Translation And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, and it hath become gnats in all the land of Egypt.' Additional Translations ... Study Bible The Third Plague: Gnats16Then 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.’” 17This 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.… Cross References Exodus 8:15 When 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. Exodus 8:17 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. Exodus 8:18 The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast. Psalm 105:31 He spoke, and insects swarmed--gnats throughout their country. Treasury of Scripture And the LORD said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. stretch Exodus 8:5,17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt… lice. THE THIRD PLAGUE. (16, 17) It is disputed whether this plague was one of lice or of mosquitoes. Josephus and the Jewish commentators generally take the former view, while the latter is supported by the LXX. and Vulgate, by the authorities of Philo, Artapanus, Origen, and St. Augustine in ancient, and by those of Rosenmller, Michaelis, ?dmann, Gesenius, Keil, and Kalisch in modern times. The word used (kinnim) seems connected with the Greek ????, or ?????, and is reasonably regarded as formed by onomatopoeia, from the sharp tingling sound given out by the insect when on the wing.[58] The trouble caused to the Egyptians of the Delta by mosquitoes is noticed by Herodotus (ii. 95); while moderns, as Forskal (Descript. Anim. p. 85), declare that they amount to an absolute pest at certain seasons. They are most troublesome towards October, and are said to attack not only the exposed parts of the skin, but especially the ears, the nostrils, and the eyes, where they do great damage. Some have thought that mosquitoes do not molest cattle (Exodus 8:17); but Kalisch says, "They molest especially beasts, as oxen and horses, flying into their eyes and nostrils, driving them to madness and fury, and sometimes even torturing them to death." [58] In Egyptian the word for "mosquito" is Khnemms, (Brugsch, Diet. Hierogl. p. 1103). It is to be noticed that the third plague, whatever it was, came without warning. It was God's judgment on Pharaoh for hardening his heart and breaking his promise (Exodus 8:15); and he was not given the option of avoiding it by submission to God's will. (16) Smite the dust of the land.--Dust prevails in Egypt to an extent that is highly inconvenient. "We travelled to Ashmim." says one writer, "through clouds of dust, raised by a high wind, which intercepted our view as much as if we had been travelling in a fog." "There is one great source of discomfort," says another, "arising from the dryness of the atmosphere, namely, an excessive quantity of dust." When "all the dust of the land became mosquitoes" (Exodus 8:17), the plague must indeed have been great. Verses 16-19. - THE THIRD PLAGUE. The breach of promise on the part of Pharaoh (ver. 15), was punished by the third plague, which was inflicted without being announced. It is disputed among the best critics, whether the plague was really one of "lice"(as given in the Authorised Version) or of mosquitoes. To the present writer the arguments in favour of mosquitoes seem to preponderate; and he believes the kinnim to represent those subtle pests. Such is the view of the LXX. translators, of Philo, Artapanus, Origen, Rosenmuller, Gesenins, Geddes, Boothroyd, Keil, and Kalisch. Mosquitoes are, under ordinary circumstances, a terrible annoyance in Egypt, when the inundation is going off, especially about October. Their power to annoy is witnessed to in ancient times by Herodotus (2:95), Philo (Vit. Mos. 2. p. 97), and St. Augustine; in modern by Wilkinson and others. That Aaron was ordered to produce them out of "the dust of the land," whereas mosquitoes come from larvae deposited in stagnant waters (Cook), is only a proof that God can transform any kind of matter into any other. He who made man of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7) could with still greater ease have transformed that dust into gnats. It is undoubtedly remarkable that the magi-clans could not produce the kinnim; but this disability does not help us to determine what exactly the kinnim were. Conceivably, the magicians were tired of the contest, and feeling that they would ultimately be worsted in it, . withdrew before the circumstances compelled them to withdraw. Verse 16. - Lice. Kinnim - the word is only found here and in the Psalms which celebrate the Exodus (Psalm 78:46; Psalm 105:31). It was understood as "lice"by Josephus, the Talmudical writers, Bochart, Pool, and our translators in the reign of James I. But the great weight of authority is in favour of the rendering "gnats" or "mosquitoes." See the preceding paragraph. It must also be berne in mind that the nearest Egyptian equivalent, khennems, has the signification of mosquito (Speaker's Commentary, vol. 1. p. 490).Parallel Commentaries ... Lexicon Then the LORDיְהוָה֮ (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel said וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 559: To utter, say to אֶל־ (’el-) Preposition Strong's Hebrew 413: Near, with, among, to Moses, מֹשֶׁה֒ (mō·šeh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver “Tell אֱמֹר֙ (’ĕ·mōr) Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 559: To utter, say Aaron, אַהֲרֹ֔ן (’a·hă·rōn) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 175: Aaron -- an elder brother of Moses ‘Stretch out נְטֵ֣ה (nə·ṭêh) Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 5186: To stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend your staff מַטְּךָ֔ (maṭ·ṭə·ḵā) Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 4294: A staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe and strike וְהַ֖ךְ (wə·haḵ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 5221: To strike the dust עֲפַ֣ר (‘ă·p̄ar) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's Hebrew 6083: Dust, clay, earth, mud of the earth, הָאָ֑רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ) Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's Hebrew 776: Earth, land that it may turn into וְהָיָ֥ה (wə·hā·yāh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be swarms of gnats לְכִנִּ֖ם (lə·ḵin·nim) Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural Strong's Hebrew 3654: Gnat, gnats, a gnat swarm throughout בְּכָל־ (bə·ḵāl) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's Hebrew 3605: The whole, all, any, every the land אֶ֥רֶץ (’e·reṣ) Noun - feminine singular construct Strong's Hebrew 776: Earth, land of Egypt.’” מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (miṣ·rā·yim) Noun - proper - feminine singular Strong's Hebrew 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa Jump to Previous Aaron Dust Earth Egypt Gnats Ground Insects Lice Moses Rod Smite Staff Stretch Stretched Strike ThroughoutJump to Next Aaron Dust Earth Egypt Gnats Ground Insects Lice Moses Rod Smite Staff Stretch Stretched Strike ThroughoutLinks Exodus 8:16 NIVExodus 8:16 NLT Exodus 8:16 ESV Exodus 8:16 NASB Exodus 8:16 KJV Exodus 8:16 BibleApps.com Exodus 8:16 Biblia Paralela Exodus 8:16 Chinese Bible Exodus 8:16 French Bible Exodus 8:16 Clyx Quotations OT Law: Exodus 8:16 Yahweh said to Moses Tell Aaron 'Stretch (Exo. 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