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10 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his slaves that I might show these my signs among them

and that thou may tell in the ears of thy sons and of thy son’s sons the things I did in Egypt and my signs which I gave among them and that ye may know that I am the LORD.

Then Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh and said unto him, Thus hath the LORD God of the Hebrews said, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? Let my people go that they may serve me.

For if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring the locusts into thy borders,

and they shall cover the face of the earth that one will not be able to see the earth, and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remains unto you from the hail and shall eat every tree which produces fruit for you out of the field:

And they shall fill thy houses and the houses of all thy slaves and the houses of all the Egyptians, which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself and went out from Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh’s slaves said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go that they may serve the LORD their God; knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God. Who are those that shall go?

And Moses replied, We must go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our sheep and with our cows we must go; for we have a solemn feast unto the LORD.

10 And he said unto them, Even if the LORD be with you, how can I let you go with your little ones; look at the malice which is before your face.

11 It shall not be so: go now ye that are men and serve the LORD; for that is what ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 ¶ Then the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt to bring the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt and eat all the grass of the land and all that the hail has left.

13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and landed in all the borders of Egypt. Very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall there be such.

15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate all the grass of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; and there did not remain any green thing in the trees or in the grass of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.

17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only.

18 And he went out from Pharaoh and intreated the LORD.

19 And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt.

20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the sons of Israel go.

21 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.

23 They did not see one another, neither did any rise from his place for three days; but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings.

24 Then Pharaoh called unto Moses and said, Go, serve the LORD; only let your sheep and your cows remain; let your little ones also go with you.

25 And Moses replied, Thou also must give us sacrifices and burnt offerings that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God.

26 Our cattle shall also go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind; for we must take thereof to serve the LORD our God; and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.

27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.

28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Go from me, take heed to thyself to see my face no more; for in the day that thou seest my face thou shalt die.

29 And Moses replied, Thou hast spoken well, I will not see thy face again.

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