Exodus 8:18

Verse

The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.

American Standard Version (1901)

And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: and there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

Bible in Basic English

And the wonder-workers with their secret arts, attempting to make insects, were unable to do so: and there were insects on man and on beast.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And the magicians with their enchantments practiced in like manner, to bring forth sciniphs, and they could not and there were sciniphs as well on men as on beasts.

Free Bible Version

The magicians also tried to make gnats using their magic arts, but they couldn't. The gnats stayed on both people and animals.

Geneva Bible 1599

Nowe the enchanters assaied likewise with their enchantments to bring forth lyce, but they could not. So the lyce were vpon man and vpon beast.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

One Unity Resource Bible

The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on man, and on animal.

Translation for Translators

The men who worked magic tried to cause gnats to appear, but they were unable to do it. So the gnats stayed on the Egyptian people and on their animals.

Unlocked Literal Bible

The magicians tried with their magic to produce gnats, but they could not. There were gnats on man and beast.

Noah Webster Bible

And the magicians did so with their inchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man and upon beast.

World English Bible

The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on man, and on animal.

Young's Literal Translation

And the scribes do so with their flashings, to bring out the gnats, and they have not been able, and the gnats are on man and on beast;

Context

The Third Plague: Gnats

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.¹⁸The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.

Summary

In this verse, we see the magicians of Egypt acknowledging the finger of God in the plague of gnats. Despite their attempts to replicate the miraculous signs performed by Moses, they are forced to recognize the divine power at work. This highlights the limitations of human abilities and the superiority of God's sovereignty over all creation. It serves as a reminder that God's authority and might surpasses any human or earthly opposition, showcasing His unmatched power and control over the universe.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

The 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 agents, we find from this case that these agents had assigned limits, beyond which they could not go; for every agent in the universe is acting under the direction or control of the Almighty.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

"The magicians did so with their enchantments (i.e., smote the dust with rods), to bring forth gnats, but could not." The cause of this inability is hardly to be sought for, as Knobel supposes, in the fact that "the thing to be done in this instance, was to call creatures into existence, and not merely to call forth and change creatures and things in existence already, as in the case of the staff, the water, and the frogs." For after this, they could neither call out the dog-flies, nor protect their own bodies from the boils; to say nothing of the fact, that as gnats proceed from the eggs laid in the dust or earth by the previous generation, their production is not to be regarded as a direct act of creation any more than that of the frogs. The miracle in both plagues was just the same, and consisted not in a direct creation, but simply in a sudden creative generation and supernatural multiplication, not of the gnats only, but also of the frogs, in accordance with a previous prediction. The reason why the arts of the Egyptians magicians were put to shame in this case, we have to seek in the omnipotence of God, restraining the demoniacal powers which the magicians had made subservient to their purposes before, in order that their inability to bring out these, the smallest of all creatures, which seemed to arise as it were from the dust itself, might display in the sight of every one the impotence of their secret arts by the side of the almighty creative power of the true God. This omnipotence the magicians were compelled to admit: they were compelled to acknowledge, "This is the finger of God." "But they did not make this acknowledgment for the purpose of giving glory to God Himself, but simply to protect their own honour, that Moses and Aaron might not be thought to be superior to them in virtue or knowledge. It was equivalent to saying, it is not by Moses and Aaron that we are restrained, but by a divine power, which is greater than either" (Bochart). The word Elohim is decisive in support of this view. If they had meant to refer to the God of Israel, they would have used the name Jehovah. The "finger of God" denotes creative omnipotence (Psa 8:3; Luk 11:20, cf. Exo 31:18). Consequently this miracle also made no impression upon Pharaoh.

Exodus 8:18

The Third Plague: Gnats

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.

American Standard Version (1901)

And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: and there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

Bible in Basic English

And the wonder-workers with their secret arts, attempting to make insects, were unable to do so: and there were insects on man and on beast.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And the magicians with their enchantments practiced in like manner, to bring forth sciniphs, and they could not and there were sciniphs as well on men as on beasts.

Free Bible Version

The magicians also tried to make gnats using their magic arts, but they couldn't. The gnats stayed on both people and animals.

Geneva Bible 1599

Nowe the enchanters assaied likewise with their enchantments to bring forth lyce, but they could not. So the lyce were vpon man and vpon beast.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

One Unity Resource Bible

The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on man, and on animal.

Translation for Translators

The men who worked magic tried to cause gnats to appear, but they were unable to do it. So the gnats stayed on the Egyptian people and on their animals.

Unlocked Literal Bible

The magicians tried with their magic to produce gnats, but they could not. There were gnats on man and beast.

Noah Webster Bible

And the magicians did so with their inchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man and upon beast.

World English Bible

The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on man, and on animal.

Young's Literal Translation

And the scribes do so with their flashings, to bring out the gnats, and they have not been able, and the gnats are on man and on beast;

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Exodus 8:18

Verse

Context

The Third Plague: Gnats

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Exodus 8:18

The Third Plague: Gnats

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary