13. And the lord did just what Moses had predicted. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields all died.
14. The Egyptians piled them into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land.
15. But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the lord had predicted.
16. 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.’”
17. So Moses and Aaron did just as the lord had commanded them. When Aaron raised his hand and struck the ground with his staff, gnats infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals. All the dust in the land of Egypt turned into gnats.
18. Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed. And the gnats covered everyone, people and animals alike.
19. “This is the finger of God!” the magicians exclaimed to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the lord had predicted.
20. Then the lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘This is what the lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.