Exodus 10:1-12:13
New American Standard Bible
The Plague of Locusts
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for (A)I have [a]hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may [b]perform these signs of Mine [c]among them, 2 and (B)that you may tell in the [d]presence of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I [e]performed My signs among them, (C)so that you may know that I am the Lord.”
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 (D)humble yourself before Me? (E)Let My people go, so 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 will cover the 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 survived—what is left to you from the hail—and they will eat every tree of yours which grows [f]in the field. 6 Then (G)your houses will be filled with them, [g]together with the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they [h]came upon the earth until this day.’” And he turned and left Pharaoh. 7 Then (H)Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be (I)a snare to us? Let the [i]people go, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet [j]realize that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron (J)were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “(K)Go, serve the Lord your God! [k]Who specifically are the ones who are going?” 9 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 we [l]must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 Then he said to them, “So may the Lord be with you, when I let you and your little ones go! Watch out, for evil is [m]on your mind! 11 Not so! Go now, but only the men among you, and serve the Lord, since [n]that is what you desire.” So (N)they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(O)Reach out with your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up on the land of Egypt and (P)eat every plant of the land, everything that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind [o]brought the (Q)locusts. 14 (R)The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very [p]numerous. There had never been so many [q]locusts, nor would there be so many [r]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. Therefore nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hurriedly (T)called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “(U)I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 So now, please forgive my sin only this once, and (V)plead with the Lord your God, that He would only remove this death from me.” 18 Then (W)he left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 So the Lord shifted the wind to a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and drove them into the [s]Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But (X)the Lord [t]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
Darkness over the Land
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(Y)Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness (Z)which may be felt.” 22 So Moses reached out with 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 dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh (AC)called for Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be left behind. Even (AD)your little ones may go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also [u]let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may [v]sacrifice them to the Lord our God. 26 (AE)Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the Lord our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the Lord.” 27 But (AF)the Lord [w]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “(AG)Get away from me! [x]Be careful, do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you shall die!” 29 Moses said, “You have spoken correctly; (AH)I shall never see your face again!”
The Last Plague
11 Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; (AI)after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will assuredly drive you out from here completely. 2 Speak now [y]so that the people hear, that (AJ)each man is to ask of his neighbor, and each woman of her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3 And (AK)the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. (AL)Furthermore, the man Moses himself was [z]greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4 Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About (AM)midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, 5 and (AN)all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6 So there shall be (AO)a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. 7 (AP)But not even a dog will [aa]threaten any of the sons of Israel, nor anything from person to animal, so that you may [ab]learn how the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 And (AQ)all these servants of yours will come down to me and bow themselves [ac]before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who [ad]follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” (AR)And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(AS)Pharaoh will not listen to you, so (AT)that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 So (AU)Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet (AV)the Lord [ae]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.
The Passover Lamb
12 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of [af]Egypt, 2 “(AW)This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a [ag]lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a [ah]lamb for [ai]each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a [aj]lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the [ak]number of persons in them; in proportion to [al]what each one should eat, you are to [am]divide the lamb. 5 Your [an]lamb shall be (AX)an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 [ao]You shall keep it until the (AY)fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it [ap](AZ)at twilight. 7 (BA)Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [aq]of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh (BB)that same night, (BC)roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with (BD)unleavened bread [ar](BE)and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather (BF)roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with (BG)its entrails. 10 (BH)And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment [as]belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is (BI)the Lord’s Passover. 12 For (BJ)I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and (BK)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—(BL)I am the Lord. 13 (BM)The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you [at]live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you [au]to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Footnotes
- Exodus 10:1 Lit made heavy
- Exodus 10:1 Lit put
- Exodus 10:1 Lit in his midst
- Exodus 10:2 Lit ears
- Exodus 10:2 Lit put
- Exodus 10:5 Lit from
- Exodus 10:6 Lit and the
- Exodus 10:6 Lit were
- Exodus 10:7 Or men
- Exodus 10:7 Lit know
- Exodus 10:8 Lit Who and who are
- Exodus 10:9 Lit have a feast
- Exodus 10:10 Lit before your face
- Exodus 10:11 Lit you desire it
- Exodus 10:13 Lit carried
- Exodus 10:14 Lit heavy
- 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 made strong
- Exodus 10:25 Lit hand over
- Exodus 10:25 Lit make them for
- Exodus 10:27 Lit made strong
- Exodus 10:28 Lit Take care for yourself
- Exodus 11:2 Lit in the ears of the people that
- Exodus 11:3 Lit very great
- Exodus 11:7 Lit move its tongue
- Exodus 11:7 Lit know
- Exodus 11:8 Lit to
- Exodus 11:8 Lit are at your feet
- Exodus 11:10 Lit made strong
- Exodus 12:1 Lit Egypt, saying
- Exodus 12:3 Or kid
- Exodus 12:3 Or kid
- Exodus 12:3 Lit the
- Exodus 12:4 Or kid
- Exodus 12:4 Or amount
- Exodus 12:4 Lit each man’s eating
- Exodus 12:4 Lit compute for
- Exodus 12:5 Or kid
- Exodus 12:6 Lit It shall be to you for a guarding
- Exodus 12:6 Lit between the two evenings
- Exodus 12:7 Lit upon
- Exodus 12:8 Lit in addition to
- Exodus 12:11 I.e., for travel
- Exodus 12:13 Lit are
- Exodus 12:13 Lit for destruction
Exodus 10:1-12:13
New Living Translation
A Plague of Locusts
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn[a] so I can display my miraculous signs among them. 2 I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them—and so you will know that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me. 4 If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country. 5 They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields. 6 They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!” And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7 Pharaoh’s officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. “How long will you let this man hold us hostage? Let the men go to worship the Lord their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “All right,” he told them, “go and worship the Lord your God. But who exactly will be going with you?”
9 Moses replied, “We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.”
10 Pharaoh retorted, “The Lord will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan. 11 Never! Only the men may go and worship the Lord, since that is what you requested.” And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring on the locusts. Let them cover the land and devour every plant that survived the hailstorm.”
13 So Moses raised his staff over Egypt, and the Lord caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and through the night. When morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 And the locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt, settling in dense swarms from one end of the country to the other. It was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history, and there has never been another one like it. 15 For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you,” he confessed. 17 “Forgive my sin, just this once, and plead with the Lord your God to take away this death from me.”
18 So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and pleaded with the Lord. 19 The Lord responded by shifting the wind, and the strong west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea.[b] Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go.
A Plague of Darkness
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.” 22 So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days. 23 During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.
24 Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses. “Go and worship the Lord,” he said. “But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you.”
25 “No,” Moses said, “you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God. 26 All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there.”
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them go. 28 “Get out of here!” Pharaoh shouted at Moses. “I’m warning you. Never come back to see me again! The day you see my face, you will die!”
29 “Very well,” Moses replied. “I will never see your face again.”
Death for Egypt’s Firstborn
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will strike Pharaoh and the land of Egypt with one more blow. After that, Pharaoh will let you leave this country. In fact, he will be so eager to get rid of you that he will force you all to leave. 2 Tell all the Israelite men and women to ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” 3 (Now the Lord had caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the people of Israel. And Moses was considered a very great man in the land of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people alike.)
4 Moses had announced to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: At midnight tonight I will pass through the heart of Egypt. 5 All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest servant girl who grinds the flour. Even the firstborn of all the livestock will die. 6 Then a loud wail will rise throughout the land of Egypt, a wail like no one has heard before or will ever hear again. 7 But among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites. 8 All the officials of Egypt will run to me and fall to the ground before me. ‘Please leave!’ they will beg. ‘Hurry! And take all your followers with you.’ Only then will I go!” Then, burning with anger, Moses left Pharaoh.
9 Now the Lord had told Moses earlier, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, but then I will do even more mighty miracles in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron performed these miracles in Pharaoh’s presence, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he wouldn’t let the Israelites leave the country.
The First Passover
12 While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. 4 If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. 5 The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.
6 “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. 7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. 8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire. 10 Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.
11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed,[c] wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover. 12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! 13 But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
