8:20–32 The fourth plague consisted of dense swarms of flies, but only in Egyptian houses. This central cycle of plagues (flies, dying livestock, and boils) begins just as the first and last three began, following a confrontation with Pharaoh early in the morning (7:15; 8:20; 9:13). Moses declares the transmission formula, This is what the LORD (Yahweh) says, together with the refrains that state, for the fourth time, the main purpose for the exodus: Let my people go, so that they may worship (“serve”) me (5:1, 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3; 11:4). The new threat was swarms of flies on every Egyptian, inside and outside the houses (NIV, awkwardly: “even the ground”). These infestations affect Pharaoh in particular, since he was ostensibly the power that controlled death and life in Egypt. T…