Exodus 8:31

ESV And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.

NIV and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained.

NASB The Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.

CSB The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left.

NLT And the Lord did as Moses asked and caused the swarms of flies to disappear from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not a single fly remained.

KJV And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.

NKJV And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained.

What does Exodus 8:31 mean?

Well before Moses ever spoke to Pharaoh, the Lord knew how the Egyptian king would respond to divine commands (Exodus 3:19–20). Pharaoh would resist until the most extreme judgment had been delivered (Exodus 4:21–23). Here, Moses upholds his end of a bargain made with Pharaoh: to pray that God would end the plague of flies (Exodus 8:24), after which Pharaoh would release the Israelites (Exodus 8:28–29).

This verse doesn't describe God deciding how to react based on Moses' input. God responds to prayer (John 14:14; James 5:16) when requests are aligned with His will. Here, part of the Lord's plan was to add and remove plagues, to prove His own power and Pharaoh's invincible stubbornness. The flies miraculously appeared—and only on the Egyptian people (Exodus 8:22)—and they disappeared just as quickly and entirely. No room is left to doubt a supernatural act of Israel's God; this was clearly not something random or controlled by Egyptian idols.

As expected, Pharoah will go back on his word (Exodus 8:32). This pattern will continue through a total of ten devastating plagues. Only after the last will Pharaoh allow Israel to leave the country (Exodus 12:30–31, 41). Even then, he will once again change his mind (Exodus 14:6–7), leading to utter defeat (Exodus 14:26–27).

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