The Nile, literally “the river,” is the Nile River in Egypt. Shall swarm with frogs means it will be “full of frogs” (Good News Translation) in countless numbers. Which shall come up into your house is literally “and they will come up and they will enter into your house.” The idea is that the frogs will come up from the river onto the land and then enter into the king’s “palace.” The bedchamber was the king’s “bedroom.” The your is singular for house, bedchamber, and bed. Another way to express this is “they will enter your palace, your bedrooms, and your bed.”

The houses of your servants refers to the living quarters of the king’s royal servants, or “officials” (New Revised Standard Version), (as at 7.10). And of your people is literally “and on your people” (New International Version), as the footnote in Revised Standard Version indicates. But most translations follow the Septuagint instead of the Hebrew and understand it as referring to the houses of the people. If the meaning of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation is followed, a footnote is advisable. In many languages it will be good to begin a new sentence here and say “Frogs will also enter the houses of your officials.”

Into your ovens probably refers to the clay baking ovens used at the palace, for the your is singular for both ovens and kneading bowls. A Handbook on Leviticus, page 28, has a helpful comment on ovens:

• … the oven was either a kind of hole dug in the earth or a hollow round object made of baked clay and placed on the ground. A fire is made under this object, and when it is well heated, the dough is inserted through the top opening and placed against the inner walls in order to cook it.

Presumably the Israelite ovens were similar to the Egyptian ones, as the Israelites had been living in Egypt for many years. Most cultures have ovens of some type, but translators should avoid loan words, as these often refer to electric or gas ovens. In some languages descriptive phrases will be necessary; for example, “a hot box made of clay” or “a round object made of clay for baking bread.”

The kneading bowls were the containers in which the people, using their hands, mixed the ingredients for making bread. They were normally made of either clay or wood, but those in the palace may have been made of bronze. Good News Translation‘s “baking pans” may be misleading.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .