Exodus 8:24
in Exodus 8And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by swarms of flies.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses: and in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.
KJV
And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.
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This verse in Exodus 8
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
there came a grievous swarm of flies
The swarm reaches Pharaoh's house first, then his servants' houses, then the whole country, which is the order the warning gave at verse 21. The land was corrupted, and Psalm 78:45 looks back at it and says the flies devoured them. Israel in Goshen sits inside the same country and outside the same plague.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), flies of divers sorts, and such as devoured them, Ps. lxxviii. The prince of the power of the air has gloried in being Beelzebub--the god of flies; but here it is proved that even in that he is a pretender and a usurper, for even with swarms of flies God fights against his kingdom and prevails.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the Lord did so,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The worship of flies, particularly of the beetle, was a prominent part of the religion of the ancient Egyptians. The employment of these winged deities to chastise them must have been painful and humiliating to the Egyptians while it must at the same time have strengthened the faith of the Israelites in the God of their fathers as the only object of worship.
The land was corrupted - Every thing was spoiled, and many of the inhabitants destroyed, being probably stung to death by these venomous insects. This seems to be intimated by the psalmist, “He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which Devoured them,” Psa 78:
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֤עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כֵּ֔ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| וַיָּבֹא֙ | vaiyavo' | and it came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָרֹ֣ב | aro | a swarm | H6157 → | 9 times |
| כָּבֵ֔ד | kaved | massive | H3515 → | 41 times |
| בֵּ֥יתָה | beitah | [the] house of towards | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| פַרְעֹ֖ה | faroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| וּבֵ֣ית | uveit | and [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| עֲבָדָ֑יו | ʾavadav | servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֶ֧רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֛יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| תִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת | tishachet | it was ruined | H7843 → | 146 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֥י | mipenei | <from> because of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הֶעָרֹֽב׃ | hearo | the swarm | H6157 → | 9 times |
וַיַּ֤עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כֵּ֔ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
וַיָּבֹא֙and it came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
עָרֹ֣בa swarm
aroH6157 →9 times
כָּבֵ֔דmassive
kavedH3515 →41 times
בֵּ֥יתָה[the] house of towards
beitahH1004 →2046 times
פַרְעֹ֖הPharaoh
farohH6547 →274 times
וּבֵ֣יתand [the] house of
uveitH1004 →2046 times
עֲבָדָ֑יוservants his
ʾavadavH5650 →799 times
וּבְכָל־and in all
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
אֶ֧רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֛יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
תִּשָּׁחֵ֥תit was ruined
tishachetH7843 →146 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
מִפְּנֵ֥י<from> because of
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
הֶעָרֹֽב׃the swarm
hearoH6157 →9 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 78:45He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
it leads to
- Exodus 8:21–24
But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 105:30–31
Their land teemed with frogs, even in their royal chambers.
- Exodus 8:2–15
But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.
- Revelation 16:3
And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died.
- Exodus 8:21–24
Through
Psalms 105:31He spoke, and insects swarmed— gnats throughout their country.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:45
He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 7:18
On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 8:16–18
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.’”
- Psalms 78:45
Through
Exodus 8:21But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the…
it leads to
- Psalms 105:31
He spoke, and insects swarmed— gnats throughout their country.
- Psalms 105:31
About Exodus

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
