7429. 'And the magicians said to Pharaoh' means perception and communication to those immersed in evils. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' as perception, dealt with in 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862, 3509, 5743, and also as communication, 3060, 4131, 6228, 7291, 7381; from the meaning of 'the magicians' as those who pervert Divine order and produce something that looks the same to outward appearance, dealt with just above in 7426; and from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as those who are steeped in falsities and engage in molestation, dealt with in 6651, 6679, 6683, 7107, 7100, 7126, 7142, 7717, at this point those who are immersed in evils since they are now in a state of evil after the removal of the false reasonings, as is evident from what has gone before.

7426. 'And the magicians did the same with their enchantments to bring forth lice' means the endeavour to pervert Divine order and produce something that looked the same in these things also. This is clear from the meaning of 'did' as the endeavour to achieve the same thing, for it goes on to say that they could not in fact achieve it; from the meaning of 'the magicians' and 'enchantments' as perverting Divine order and producing something similar to outward appearance, dealt with in 7296, 7297, 7337; and from the meaning of 'bringing forth lice' as producing the evils that are meant by 'lice', dealt with in 7419.