81 Then the Lord said to Moses , "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord , " Let My people go , that they may serve Me. 2 "But if you refuse to let them go , behold , I will smite your whole territory with frogs . 3 "The Nile will swarm with frogs , which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom e and on your bed , and into the houses of your servants and on your people , and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls . 4 "So the frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants .""' 5 Then the Lord said to Moses , "Say to Aaron , ' Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers , over the streams and over the pools , and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt .' " 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt , and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt . 7 The magicians did the same with their secret arts , making frogs come up on the land of Egypt . 8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said , " Entreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people ; and I will let the people go , that they may sacrifice to the Lord ." 9 Moses said to Pharaoh , "The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people , that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses , that they may be left only in the Nile ?" 10 Then he said , "Tomorrow ." So he said , "May it be according to your word , that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God . 11 "The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people ; they will be left only in the Nile ." 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh , and Moses cried to the Lord concerning e the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh . 13 The Lord did according to the word of Moses , and the frogs died out of the houses , the courts , and the fields . 14 So they piled them in heaps , and the land became foul . 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief , he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 8:1-15
Commentary on Exodus 8:1-15
(Read Exodus 8:1-15)
Pharaoh is plagued with frogs; their vast numbers made them sore plagues to the Egyptians. God could have plagued Egypt with lions, or bears, or wolves, or with birds of prey, but he chose to do it by these despicable creatures. God, when he pleases, can arm the smallest parts of the creation against us. He thereby humbled Pharaoh. They should neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep in quiet; but wherever they were, they should be troubled by the frogs. God's curse upon a man will pursue him wherever he goes, and lie heavy upon him whatever he does. Pharaoh gave way under this plague. He promises that he will let the people go. Those who bid defiance to God and prayer, first or last, will be made to see their need of both. But when Pharaoh saw there was respite, he hardened his heart. Till the heart is renewed by the grace of God, the thoughts made by affliction do not abide; the convictions wear off, and the promises that were given are forgotten. Till the state of the air is changed, what thaws in the sun will freeze again in the shade.