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10 And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants: that I may work these my signs in him.

And thou mayest tell in the ears of thy sons, and of they grandsons, how often I have plagued the Egyptians, and wrought my signs amongst them: and you may know that I am the Lord:

Therefore Moses and Aaron went in to Pharao, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: How long refusest thou to submit to me? let my people go, to sacrifice to me.

But if thou resist, and wilt not let them go, behold I will bring in to morrow the locust into thy coasts:

To cover the face of the earth that nothing thereof may appear, but that which the hail hath left may be eaten: for they shall feed upon all the trees that spring in the fields.

And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of thy servants, and of all the Egyptians: such a number as thy fathers have not seen, nor thy grandfathers, from the time they were first upon the earth, until this present day. And he turned himself away, and went forth from Pharao.

And Pharao's servants said to him: How long shall we endure this scandal? let the men go to sacrifice to the Lord their God. Dost thou not see that Egypt is undone?

And they called back Moses and Aaron to Pharao: and he said to them: Go, sacrifice to the Lord your God: who are they that shall go?

Moses said: We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, with our sheep and herds: for it is the solemnity of the Lord our God.

10 And Pharao answered: So be the Lord with you, as I shall let you and your children go: who can doubt but that you intend some great evil?

11 It shall not be so: but go ye men only, and sacrifice to the Lord: for this yourselves also desired. And immediately they were cast out from Pharao's presence.

12 And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand upon the land of Egypt unto the locust, that it may come upon it, and devour every herb that is left after the hail.

13 And Moses stretched forth his rod upon the land of Egypt: and the Lord brought a burning wind all that day, and night: and when it was morning, the burning wind raised the locusts:

14 And they came up over the whole land of Egypt: and rested in all the coasts of the Egyptians innumerable, the like as had not been before that time, nor shall be hereafter.

15 And they covered the whole face of the earth, wasting all things. And the grass of the earth was devoured, and what fruits soever were on the trees, which the hail had left: and there remained not any thing that was green on the trees, or in the herbs of the earth in all Egypt.

16 Wherefore Pharao in haste called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.

17 But now forgive me my sin this time also, and pray to the Lord your God, that he take away from me this death.

18 And Moses going forth from the presence of Pharao, prayed to the Lord.

19 And he made a very strong wind to blow from the west, and it took the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea: there remained not so much as one in all the coasts of Egypt.

20 And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, neither did he let the children of Israel go.

21 And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch out they hand towards heaven: and may there be darkness upon the land of Egypt, so thick that it may be felt.

22 And Moses stretch forth his hand towards heaven: and there came horrible darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.

23 No man saw his brother, nor moved himself out of the place where he was: but wheresoever the children of Israel dwelt there was light.

24 And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go sacrifice to the Lord: let your sheep only, and herds remain; let your children go with you.

25 Moses said: Thou shalt give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, to the Lord our God.

26 All the flocks shall go with us: there shall not a hoof remain of them: for they are necessary for the service of the Lord our God: especially as we know not what must be offered, till we come to the very place.

27 And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, and he would not let them go.

28 And Pharao said to Moses: Get thee from me, and beware thou see not my face any more: in what day soever thou shalt come in my sight, thou shalt die.

29 Moses answered: So shall it be as thou hast spoken, I will not see thy face any more.

The Plague of Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart(A) and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs(B) of mine among them that you may tell your children(C) and grandchildren how I dealt harshly(D) with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”(E)

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble(F) yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse(G) to let them go, I will bring locusts(H) into your country tomorrow. They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left(I) after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.(J) They will fill your houses(K) and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’”(L) Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare(M) to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”(N)

Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship(O) the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”

Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival(P) to the Lord.”

10 Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.[a] 11 No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.

12 And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand(Q) over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”

13 So Moses stretched out his staff(R) over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts;(S) 14 they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts,(T) nor will there ever be again. 15 They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured(U) all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

16 Pharaoh quickly summoned(V) Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned(W) against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now forgive(X) my sin once more and pray(Y) to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”

18 Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.(Z) 19 And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea.[b] Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,(AA) and he would not let the Israelites go.

The Plague of Darkness

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness(AB) spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness(AC) covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.(AD)

24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go,(AE) worship the Lord. Even your women and children(AF) may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”(AG)

25 But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings(AH) to present to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”

27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,(AI) and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”

29 “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear(AJ) before you again.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 10:10 Or Be careful, trouble is in store for you!
  2. Exodus 10:19 Or the Sea of Reeds