Exodus 8:16
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 Standard 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.’”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Yahweh 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 it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And LORD JEHOVAH said to Moshe, “Say to Aaron, “Lift your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and lice will be in 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.

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.'"

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."

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.”

Majority Standard 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.’”

New American Bible
Thereupon the LORD spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will turn into gnats throughout 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 Revised 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 throughout the whole 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.'"

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, 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 ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Third Plague: Gnats
16Then 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.

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Aaron Dust Earth Egypt Gnats Ground Insects Lice Moses Rod Smite Staff Stretch Stretched Strike Throughout
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Aaron Dust Earth Egypt Gnats Ground Insects Lice Moses Rod Smite Staff Stretch Stretched Strike Throughout
Exodus 8
1. Frogs are sent
8. Pharaoh complains to Moses, who by prayer removes them
16. The dust is turned into lice, which the magicians could not do
20. The plague of flies
25. Pharaoh inclines to let the people go, but yet is hardened














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 ...


Hebrew
Then the LORD
יְהוָה֮ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 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 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Moses,
מֹשֶׁה֒ (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

“Tell
אֱמֹר֙ (’ĕ·mōr)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

Aaron,
אַהֲרֹ֔ן (’a·hă·rōn)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 175: Aaron -- an elder brother of Moses

‘Stretch out
נְטֵ֣ה (nə·ṭêh)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 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 4294: A staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe

and strike
וְהַ֖ךְ (wə·haḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 5221: To strike

the dust
עֲפַ֣ר (‘ă·p̄ar)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6083: Dust, clay, earth, mud

of the earth,
הָאָ֑רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

that it may turn into
וְהָיָ֥ה (wə·hā·yāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

swarms of gnats
לְכִנִּ֖ם (lə·ḵin·nim)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3654: Gnat, gnats, a gnat swarm

throughout
בְּכָל־ (bə·ḵāl)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the land
אֶ֥רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 776: Earth, land

of Egypt.’”
מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (miṣ·rā·yim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa


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OT Law: Exodus 8:16 Yahweh said to Moses Tell Aaron 'Stretch (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 8:15
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