22. But I will not treat the Israelites the same as the Egyptian people. There will not be any flies in the land of Goshen, where my people live. By this you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land.
23. I will treat my people differently from your people. This miracle will happen tomorrow.’ ”
24. So the Lord did as he had said, and great swarms of flies came into the king’s palace and his officers’ houses. All over Egypt flies were ruining the land.
25. The king called for Moses and Aaron and told them, “Offer sacrifices to your God here in this country.”
26. But Moses said, “It wouldn’t be right to do that, because the Egyptians hate the sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God. If they see us offering sacrifices they hate, they will throw stones at us and kill us.
27. Let us make a three-day journey into the desert. We must offer sacrifices to the Lord our God there, as the Lord told us to do.”
28. The king said, “I will let you go so that you may offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert, but you must not go very far away. Now go and pray for me.”