Exodus 10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Eighth Plague: Locusts
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his officials, in order that I may show these signs of mine among them(A) 2 and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I have made fools of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them—so that you may know that I am the Lord.”(B)
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may serve me.(C) 4 For if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country.(D) 5 They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They shall devour the last remnant left you after the hail, and they shall devour every tree of yours that grows in the field.(E) 6 They shall fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and of all the Egyptians—something that neither your parents nor your grandparents have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.(F)
7 Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long shall this fellow be a snare to us? Send the people away, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?”(G) 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God! But which ones are to go?”(H) 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, because we have the Lord’s festival to celebrate.”(I) 10 He said to them, “The Lord indeed will be with you, if ever I let your little ones go with you! Plainly, you have some evil purpose in mind. 11 No, never! Your men may go and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.(J)
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may come upon it and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.”(K) 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came upon all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before nor ever shall be again.(L) 15 They covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was black, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or on the plants in the fields, in all the land of Egypt.(M) 16 Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.(N) 17 Do forgive my sin this once, and pray to the Lord your God that at the least he remove this deadly thing from me.”(O) 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19 The Lord changed the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea;[a] not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.(P)
The Ninth Plague: Darkness
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.”(Q) 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was dense darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.(R) 23 People could not see one another, and for three days they could not move from where they were, but all the Israelites had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord. Only your flocks and your herds shall remain behind. Even your little ones may go with you.”(S) 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must choose some of them to serve the Lord our God, and we will not know what to use to serve the Lord until we arrive there.”(T) 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.(U) 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take care that you do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.”(V) 29 Moses said, “Just as you say! I will never see your face again.”(W)
Footnotes
- 10.19 Or Sea of Reeds
Exodus 10
Common English Bible
Invasion of locusts
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. I’ve made him and his officials stubborn so that I can show them my signs 2 and so that you can tell your children and grandchildren how I overpowered the Egyptians with the signs I did among them. You will know that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the Hebrews’ God, says: How long will you refuse to respect me? Let my people go so that they can worship me. 4 Otherwise, if you refuse to let my people go, I’m going to bring locusts into your country tomorrow. 5 They will cover the landscape so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will eat the last bit of vegetation that was left after the hail. They will eat all your trees growing in the fields. 6 The locusts will fill your houses and all your officials’ houses and all the Egyptians’ houses. Your parents and even your grandparents have never seen anything like it during their entire lifetimes in this fertile land.” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7 Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man trap us in a corner like this? Let the people go so that they can worship the Lord their God. Don’t you get it? Egypt is being destroyed!”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go! Worship the Lord your God! But who exactly is going with you?”
9 Moses said, “We’ll go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we all must observe the Lord’s festival.”
10 Pharaoh said to them, “Yes, the Lord will be with you, all right, especially if I let your children go with you! Obviously, you are plotting some evil scheme. 11 No way! Only your men can go and worship the Lord, because that’s what you asked for.” Then Pharaoh had them chased out of his presence.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses: “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt so that the locusts will swarm over the land of Egypt and eat all of the land’s grain and everything that the hail left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his shepherd’s rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow over the land all that day and all that night. When morning came, the east wind had carried in the locusts. 14 The locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt and settled on the whole country. Such a huge swarming of locusts had never happened before and would never happen ever again. 15 They covered the whole landscape so that the land turned black with them. They ate all of the land’s grain and all of the orchards’ fruit that the hail had left. Nothing green was left in any orchard or in any grain field in the whole land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh called urgently for Moses and Aaron and said, “I’ve sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Please forgive my sin this time. Pray to the Lord your God just to take this deathly disaster away from me.”
18 So Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19 The Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind that lifted the locusts and drove them into the Reed Sea.[a] Not a single locust was left in the whole country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn so that he wouldn’t let the Israelites go.
Darkness covers Egypt
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over the land of Egypt, a darkness that you can feel.” 22 So Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and an intense darkness fell on the whole land of Egypt for three days. 23 People couldn’t see each other, and they couldn’t go anywhere for three days. But the Israelites all had light where they lived.
24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go! Worship the Lord! Only your flocks and herds need to stay behind. Even your children can go with you.”
25 But Moses said, “You need to let us have sacrifices and entirely burned offerings to present to the Lord our God. 26 So our livestock must go with us. Not one animal can be left behind. We’ll need some of them for worshipping the Lord our God. We won’t know which to use to worship the Lord until we get there.”
27 But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn so that he wasn’t willing to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to him, “Get out of here! Make sure you never see my face again, because the next time you see my face you will die.”
29 Moses said, “You’ve said it! I’ll never see your face again!”
Footnotes
- Exodus 10:19 Or Red Sea
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible