Exodus 10
Legacy Standard Bible
The Plague of Locusts
10 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh, for (A)I have [a]hardened his heart and the heart of his servants with firmness, that I may [b]set these signs of Mine [c]among them, 2 and (B)that you may recount in the [d]hearing of your son and of your grandson, how I dealt severely with the Egyptians, and how I [e]put My signs among them, (C)that you may know that I am Yahweh.”
3 Then Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to (D)humble yourself before Me? (E)Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4 For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 And they shall cover the [f]surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. (F)They will also eat the rest of what has escaped—what remains for you from the hail—and they will eat every tree which sprouts for you out of the field. 6 Then (G)your houses and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians shall be filled, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they [g]came upon the earth until this day.’” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. 7 (H)And Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be (I)a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron (J)were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “(K)Go, serve Yahweh your God! [h]Who are the ones that are going?” 9 And Moses said, “(L)We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, (M)with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for it is a feast of Yahweh for us.” 10 Then he said to them, “Thus may Yahweh be with you, [i]if ever I let you and your little ones go! See, for evil is [j]on your faces. 11 Not so! Go now, the men among you, and serve Yahweh, for [k]that is what you are seeking.” So (N)they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “(O)Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt and (P)eat every plant of the land, all that the hail has left remaining.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind [l]brought the (Q)locusts. 14 (R)And the locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt; they were very heavy. There had never been so many [m]locusts, nor would there be so many [n]again. 15 For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they (S)ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hurriedly (T)called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “(U)I have sinned against Yahweh your God and against you. 17 So now, please forgive my sin only this once and (V)entreat Yahweh your God, that He would only cause this death to depart from me.” 18 (W)And he went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh. 19 So Yahweh changed the wind to a very strong west wind which took up the locusts and drove them into the [o]Red Sea; not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But (X)Yahweh [p]hardened Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
The Plague of Darkness
21 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “(Y)Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness (Z)which may be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was (AA)thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, (AB)but all the sons of Israel had light in their places of habitation. 24 Then Pharaoh (AC)called to Moses and said, “Go, serve Yahweh; only let your flocks and your herds be detained. Even (AD)your little ones may go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also [q]let us have in our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may [r]sacrifice them to Yahweh our God. 26 (AE)Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall remain behind, for we shall take some of them to serve Yahweh our God. And until we come there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve Yahweh.” 27 But (AF)Yahweh [s]hardened Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “(AG)Get away from me! [t]Beware, do not see my face again, for in the day you see my face you shall die!” 29 And Moses said, “As you have spoken; (AH)I shall never see your face again!”
Footnotes
- Exodus 10:1 Or glorified, cf. 14:4; lit made heavy
- Exodus 10:1 Or perform
- Exodus 10:1 Lit in his midst
- Exodus 10:2 Lit ears
- Exodus 10:2 Or perform
- Exodus 10:5 Lit eye
- Exodus 10:6 Lit were
- Exodus 10:8 Lit Who and who are
- Exodus 10:10 Lit when I
- Exodus 10:10 Lit before your face
- Exodus 10:11 Lit you seek it
- Exodus 10:13 Lit carried
- Exodus 10:14 Lit locusts like them before them
- Exodus 10:14 Lit after them
- Exodus 10:19 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 10:20 Lit strengthened
- Exodus 10:25 Lit give into
- Exodus 10:25 Lit make
- Exodus 10:27 Lit strengthened
- Exodus 10:28 Lit Take heed to yourself
Exodus 10
Expanded Bible
The Locusts
10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh]. I have ·made him and his officers stubborn [L hardened his heart and the hearts of his officers] so I could show them ·my powerful miracles [L these signs of mine]. 2 I also did this so you could ·tell [L recount to] your children and your grandchildren how I ·was hard on [or made sport of] the Egyptians. ·Tell [L Recount to] them about the ·miracles [L signs] I did among them so that all of you will know that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went to ·the king [L Pharaoh] and told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to ·be sorry for what you have done [L humble yourself before me]? Let my people go to ·worship [serve] me. 4 If you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your ·country [land]. 5 They will cover the [L surface of the] land so that no one will be able to see the ·ground [land]. They will eat ·anything that was [L the last remains] left from the hailstorm and the leaves from every tree growing in the field. 6 They will fill your ·palaces [L houses] and all your officers’ houses, as well as the houses of all the Egyptians. There will be more locusts than your fathers or ·ancestors [L the fathers of your fathers] have ever seen—more than ·there have been since people began living in Egypt [or the day they came on the earth until now].’” Then Moses turned and walked away from ·the king [L Pharaoh].
7 ·The king’s [L Pharaoh’s] officers asked him, “How long will this man ·make trouble for [L be a snare to] us? Let the ·Israelites [L men] go to ·worship [serve] the Lord their God. Don’t you know [L yet] that Egypt is ·ruined [destroyed]?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to ·the king [L Pharaoh]. He said to them, “Go and ·worship [serve] the Lord your God. But tell me, just who is going?”
9 Moses answered, “We will go with our young and old people, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds, because we are going to ·have a feast [celebrate a festival; or make a pilgrimage] to honor the Lord.”
10 ·The king [L He] said to them, “The Lord will really have to be with you if ever I let you and all of your children leave Egypt. See, you are planning something evil! 11 No! Only the men may go and ·worship [serve] the Lord, which is what you have been asking for.” Then ·the king forced Moses and Aaron out of his palace [L he drove them from the presence of Pharaoh].
12 The Lord told Moses, “·Raise [Extend; Stretch] your hand over the land of Egypt, and the locusts will come. They will ·spread all [L go up] over the land of Egypt and will eat all the ·plants [vegetation] the hail ·did not destroy [L left behind].”
13 So Moses ·raised [extended; stretched] his ·walking stick [staff] over the land of Egypt, and the Lord caused a strong east wind to blow across the land all that day and night, and when morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 Swarms of locusts ·covered [L went up on] all the land of Egypt and ·settled [rested] ·everywhere [L within all the borders of Egypt]. There were more locusts than ever before or after, 15 and they covered the [L surface of the] whole land so that it was ·black [darkened]. They ate everything that was left after the hail—·every plant [L all the vegetation] in the field and all the fruit on the trees. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt.
16 ·The king [L Pharaoh] quickly called for Moses and Aaron. He said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now forgive my sin this time. ·Pray to [Entreat; Intercede with] the Lord your God, and ask him to ·stop [turn aside] this ·punishment that kills [deadly thing from me].”
18 Moses left ·the king [L Pharaoh] and ·prayed to [entreated; interceded with] the Lord. 19 So the Lord ·changed [turned around; diverted] the wind. He made a very strong wind blow from the west, and it ·blew [L carried and drove] the locusts away into the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [C probably a body of water north of the Gulf of Suez]. Not one locust was left ·anywhere in [L within the borders of] Egypt. 20 But the Lord ·caused the king to be stubborn again [L hardened the heart of Pharaoh], and he did not let the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] go.
The Darkness
21 Then the Lord told Moses, “·Raise [Stretch; Extend] your hand toward the ·sky [heavens], and darkness will ·cover [L be over] the land of Egypt. It will be so dark ·you will be able to feel it [or you will have to grope around].” 22 Moses ·raised [stretched; extended] his hand toward the ·sky [heavens], and ·total [dense; deep] darkness was everywhere in Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see ·anyone else [L his brother], and no one could go anywhere for three days. But the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] had light where they lived.
24 Again ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh] called for Moses. He said, “All of you may go and ·worship [serve] the Lord. You may take your ·women and children [L children] with you, but you must leave your flocks and herds here.”
25 Moses said, “You must ·let us have animals to use as [L give into our hands] ·sacrifices [offerings] and burnt offerings [Lev. 1], ·because we have to offer them to [L …for] the Lord our God. 26 So we must take our animals with us; not a hoof will be left behind. We have to use some of the animals to ·worship [serve] the Lord our God. We won’t know exactly what we will need to ·worship [serve] the Lord until we get there.”
27 But the Lord ·made the king stubborn again [L hardened the heart of Pharaoh], so he ·refused [was unwilling] to let them go. 28 Then ·he [L Pharaoh] told Moses, “Get ·out of here [L away from me], ·and don’t come again [L watch out that you don’t see my face again]! ·The next time you see me, [L On the day you see my face,] you will die.”
29 Then Moses ·told the king [L said], “I’ll do what you say. I will not ·come to see you [L see your face] again.”
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