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They were piled into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land.
Exodus 8:14 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.
  • KJV And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
  • NKJV They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.
  • NASB So they piled them in heaps, and the land stank.
  • NLT The Egyptians piled them into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The dead frogs are heaped up and the land stinks. The relief leaves behind a reminder of the plague's reality.

Overview

The piles of decaying frogs filling the land with stench show that even ended judgments leave lasting marks. The deliverance does not erase the memory of what disobedience brought. This lingering consequence warns that sin's effects often outlast the moment of relief, urging hearts not to presume on grace but to turn fully to the Lord who alone can cleanse and restore.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Ezek 39:11And on that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Sea. It will block those who travel through, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.
  • Exod 8:24And 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.
  • Joel 2:20The northern army I will drive away from you, banishing it to a barren and desolate land, its front ranks into the Eastern Sea, and its rear guard into the Western Sea. And its stench will rise; its foul odor will ascend. For He has done great things.
  • Isa 34:2The LORD is angry with all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will devote them to destruction; He will give them over to slaughter.
  • Exod 7:21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 8:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.

How Exodus 8:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.