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Exodus 10
New International Version
Exodus 10
New International Version
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 2 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)
3 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. 4 If you refuse(G) to let them go, I will bring locusts(H) into your country tomorrow. 5 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) 6 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.
7 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)
8 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.”
9 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
- Exodus 10:10 Or Be careful, trouble is in store for you!
- Exodus 10:19 Or the Sea of Reeds
Exodus 10
Good News Translation
Exodus 10
Good News Translation
Locusts
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go and see the king. I have made him and his officials stubborn, in order that I may perform these miracles among them 2 and in order that you may be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I made fools of the Egyptians when I performed the miracles. All of you will know that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went to the king and said to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How much longer will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 4 If you keep on refusing, then I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. 5 There will be so many that they will completely cover the ground. They will eat everything that the hail did not destroy, even the trees that are left. 6 They will fill your palaces and the houses of all your officials and all your people. They will be worse than anything your ancestors ever saw.’” Then Moses turned and left.
7 The king's officials said to him, “How long is this man going to give us trouble? Let the Israelite men go, so that they can worship the Lord their God. Don't you realize that Egypt is ruined?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to the king, and he said to them, “You may go and worship the Lord your God. But exactly who will go?”
9 Moses answered, “We will all go, including our children and our old people. We will take our sons and daughters, our sheep and goats, and our cattle, because we must hold a festival to honor the Lord.”
10 The king said, “I swear by the Lord that I will never let you take your women and children! It is clear that you are plotting to revolt. 11 No! Only the men may go and worship the Lord if that is what you want.” With that, Moses and Aaron were driven out of the king's presence.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring the locusts. They will come and eat everything that grows, everything that has survived the hail.” 13 So Moses raised his stick, and the Lord caused a wind from the east to blow on the land all that day and all that night. By morning it had brought the locusts. 14 (A)They came in swarms and settled over the whole country. It was the largest swarm of locusts that had ever been seen or that ever would be seen again. 15 They covered the ground until it was black with them; they ate everything that the hail had left, including all the fruit on the trees. Not a green thing was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16 Then the king hurriedly called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now forgive my sin this one time and pray to the Lord your God to take away this fatal punishment from me.” 18 Moses left the king and prayed to the Lord. 19 And the Lord changed the east wind into a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and blew them into the Gulf of Suez.[a] Not one locust was left in all of Egypt. 20 But the Lord made the king stubborn, and he did not let the Israelites go.
Darkness
21 (B)The Lord then said to Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky, and a darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt.” 22 (C)Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and there was total darkness throughout Egypt for three days. 23 The Egyptians could not see each other, and no one left his house during that time. But the Israelites had light where they were living.
24 The king called Moses and said, “You may go and worship the Lord; even your women and children may go with you. But your sheep, goats, and cattle must stay here.”
25 Moses answered, “Then you would have to provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to offer to the Lord our God. 26 No, we will take our animals with us; not one will be left behind. We ourselves must select the animals with which to worship the Lord our God. And until we get there, we will not know what animals to sacrifice to him.”
27 The Lord made the king stubborn, and he would not let them go. 28 He said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Don't let me ever see you again! On the day I do, you will die!”
29 “You are right,” Moses answered. “You will never see me again.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 10:19 See Red Sea in 13.18.
Exodus 10
The Message
Exodus 10
The Message
Strike Eight: Locusts
10 1-2 God said to Moses: “Go to Pharaoh. I’ve made him stubborn, him and his servants, so that I can force him to look at these signs and so you’ll be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I toyed with the Egyptians, like a cat with a mouse; you’ll tell them the stories of the signs that I brought down on them, so that you’ll all know that I am God.”
3-6 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “God, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How long are you going to refuse to knuckle under? Release my people so that they can worship me. If you refuse to release my people, watch out; tomorrow I’m bringing locusts into your country. They’ll cover every square inch of ground; no one will be able to see the ground. They’ll devour everything left over from the hailstorm, even the saplings out in the fields—they’ll clear-cut the trees. And they’ll invade your houses, filling the houses of your servants, filling every house in Egypt. Nobody will have ever seen anything like this, from the time your ancestors first set foot on this soil until today.’”
Then he turned on his heel and left Pharaoh.
7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long are you going to let this man harass us? Let these people go and worship their God. Can’t you see that Egypt is on its last legs?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. He said to them, “Go ahead then. Go worship your God. But just who exactly is going with you?”
9 Moses said, “We’re taking young and old, sons and daughters, flocks and herds—this is our worship-celebration of God.”
10-11 He said, “I’d sooner send you off with God’s blessings than let you go with your children. Look, you’re up to no good—it’s written all over your faces. No way. Just the men are going—go ahead and worship God. That’s what you want so badly.” And they were thrown out of Pharaoh’s presence.
12 God said to Moses: “Stretch your hand over Egypt and signal the locusts to cover the land of Egypt, devouring every blade of grass in the country, everything that the hail didn’t get.”
13 Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt. God let loose an east wind. It blew that day and night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts.
14-15 The locusts covered the country of Egypt, settling over every square inch of Egypt; the place was thick with locusts. There never was an invasion of locusts like it in the past, and never will be again. The ground was completely covered, black with locusts. They ate everything, every blade of grass, every piece of fruit, anything that the hail didn’t get. Nothing left but bare trees and bare fields—not a sign of green in the whole land of Egypt.
16-17 Pharaoh had Moses and Aaron back in no time. He said, “I’ve sinned against your God and against you. Overlook my sin one more time. Pray to your God to get me out of this—get death out of here!”
18-19 Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to God. God reversed the wind—a powerful west wind took the locusts and dumped them into the Red Sea. There wasn’t a single locust left in the whole country of Egypt.
20 But God made Pharaoh stubborn as ever. He still didn’t release the Israelites.
Strike Nine: Darkness
21 God said to Moses: “Stretch your hand to the skies. Let darkness descend on the land of Egypt—a darkness so dark you can touch it.”
22-23 Moses stretched out his hand to the skies. Thick darkness descended on the land of Egypt for three days. Nobody could see anybody. For three days no one could so much as move. Except for the Israelites: they had light where they were living.
24 Pharaoh called in Moses: “Go and worship God. Leave your flocks and herds behind. But go ahead and take your children.”
25-26 But Moses said, “You have to let us take our sacrificial animals and offerings with us so we can sacrifice them in worship to our God. Our livestock has to go with us with not a hoof left behind; they are part of the worship of our God. And we don’t know just what will be needed until we get there.”
27 But God kept Pharaoh stubborn as ever. He wouldn’t agree to release them.
28 Pharaoh said to Moses: “Get out of my sight! And watch your step. I don’t want to ever see you again. If I lay eyes on you again, you’re dead.”
29 Moses said, “Have it your way. You won’t see my face again.”
Exodus 10
21st Century King James Version
Exodus 10
21st Century King James Version
10 And the Lord said unto Moses, “Go in unto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I might show these My signs before him;
2 and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son and of thy son’s son what things I have wrought in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that ye may know that I am the Lord.”
3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh and said unto him, “Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
4 Else, if thou refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy border.
5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one shall not be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of that which has escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field.
6 And they shall fill thy houses and the houses of all thy servants 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.
7 And Pharaoh’s servants 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?”
8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But who are they that shall go?”
9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go, for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.”
10 And he said unto them, “Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones. Look to it, for evil is before you.
11 Not so! Go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord, for that ye did desire.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 And the Lord said unto Moses, “Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath 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 rested in all the borders of Egypt. Very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left, and there remained not any green thing in the trees or in the herbs 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 entreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only.”
18 And he went out from Pharaoh and entreated 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 children 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 saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses and said, “Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed. Let your little ones also go with you.”
25 And Moses said, “Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God.
26 Our cattle also shall go with us. There shall not a hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God, and we know not with what we must serve the Lord until we come thither.”
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
28 And Pharaoh said unto him, “Get thee from me! Take heed to thyself! See my face no more, for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die!”
29 And Moses said, “Thou hast spoken well. I will see thy face again no more.”
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.