17 They did this, and when Aaron raised the walking stick that was in his hand and struck the dust on the ground, everywhere in Egypt the dust changed into gnats. The gnats got on the people and animals.
18 Using their tricks, the magicians tried to do the same thing, but they could not make the dust change into gnats. The gnats remained on the people and animals.
19 So the magicians told the king that the power of God had done this. But the king was stubborn and refused to listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
20 The Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and meet the king of Egypt as he goes out to the river. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so they can worship me.
21 If you don’t let them go, I will send swarms of flies into your houses. The flies will be on you, your officers, and your people. The houses of Egypt will be full of flies, and they will be all over the ground, too.
22 But I will not treat the Israelites the same as the Egyptian people. There will not be any flies in the land of Goshen, where my people live. By this you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land.
23 I will treat my people differently from your people. This miracle will happen tomorrow.’ ”