Exodus 8:18

Exodus 8:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
• New International Version (NIV)But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere,
• English Standard Version (ESV)The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast.

Context of Exodus 8:18

16Then 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.’ ” 17They did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were [biting] gnats on man and animal. All the dust of the land became gnats through all the land of Egypt. The magicians (soothsayer-priests) tried by their secret arts and enchantments to create gnats, but they could not; and there were gnats on man and animal. 19Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the [supernatural] finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. 20Now the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he is coming out to the water [of the Nile], and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

Exodus 8:18 word by word

וַיַּעֲשׂוּ־כֵ֨ן הַחַרְטֻמִּ֧ים בְּלָטֵיהֶ֛ם לְהוֹצִ֥יא אֶת־הַכִּנִּ֖ים וְלֹ֣א יָכֹ֑לוּ וַתְּהִי֙ הַכִּנָּ֔ם בָּאָדָ֖ם וּבַבְּהֵמָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the magiciansחַרְטֹםcharţôm · magicianH2748
• didעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• so with their enchantmentsלָטlâţ · secrecyH3909
• to bring forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: issueH3318
• liceכֵּןkên · gnatH3654
• but they couldיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• upon manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• and upon beastבְּהֵמָהbehêmâh · animalH929

Cross-references for Exodus 8:18

• Exodus 7:11Then Pharaoh called for the wise men [skilled in magic and omens] and the sorcerers [skilled in witchcraft], and they also, these magicians (soothsayer-priests) of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts and enchantments.
• Exodus 9:11The magicians (soothsayer-priests) could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.
• Genesis 41:8So when morning came his spirit was troubled and disturbed and he sent and called for all the magicians and all the wise men of Egypt. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them to him.
• Isaiah 19:12Where then are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them understand what the Lord of hosts Has purposed against Egypt [if they can].
• Isaiah 47:12“Persist, then, [Babylon] in your enchantments And your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit [from them], Perhaps you may prevail and cause trembling.
• Daniel 2:10The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king this matter, for no king, lord or ruler has ever asked such a thing as this of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.
• Daniel 4:7Then the magicians, the enchanters (Magi), the Chaldeans [who were the master astrologers] and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it and make known its meaning to me.
• Daniel 5:8Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or reveal to the king its interpretation.
• Luke 10:18He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like [a flash of] lightning.
• 2 Timothy 3:8Just as Jannes and Jambres [the court magicians of Egypt] opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, unqualified and worthless [as teachers] in regard to the faith.

Commentaries on Exodus 8:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18The magicians did so - That is, They tried the utmost of their skill, either to produce these insects or to remove this plague; but they could not, no juggling could avail here, because insects must be produced which would stick to and infix themselves in man and beast, which no kind of trick could possibly imitate; and to remove them, as some would translate the passage, was to their power equally impossible. If the magicians even acted by spiritual…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-19Verses 16-19 These lice were produced out of the dust of the earth; out of any part of the creation God can fetch a scourge, with which to correct those who rebel against him. Even the dust of the earth obeys him. These lice were very troublesome, as well as disgraceful to the Egyptians, whose priests were obliged to take much pains that no vermin ever should be found about them. All the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians, had reference to their national…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-19The third plague was the plague of gnats. The word translated gnats is very general. Technical Old Testament dictionaries often translate it as vermin. The English term bugs would come close. The whole land was infested with insects of one sort or another.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-1916. smite the dust of the land, &c.--Aaron's rod, by the direction of Moses, who was commanded by God, was again raised, and the land was filled with gnats, mosquitoes--that is the proper meaning of the original term. In ordinary circumstances they embitter life in Eastern countries, and therefore the terrible nature of this infliction on Egypt may be imagined when no precautions could preserve from their painful sting. The very smallness and…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 8:18

• Lice
• Magician
• Plague
• Sorcery

In the dictionaries

• Command
• Division
• Enchantments
• Finger
• Let
• Lice
• Morrow
• Plague
• Swarm
• Divorce in the Old Testament

Commentaries on Exodus 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings