Exodus 10
Easy-to-Read Version
The Locusts
10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. I have made him and his officials stubborn. I did this so that I could show them my powerful miracles. 2 I also did this so that you could tell your children and your grandchildren about the miracles and other wonderful things that I have done in Egypt. Then all of you will know that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They told him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,[a] says, ‘How long will you refuse to obey me? Let my people go to worship me! 4 If you refuse to let my people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country. 5 The locusts will cover the land. There will be so many locusts that you will not be able to see the ground. Anything that was left from the hailstorm will be eaten by the locusts. The locusts will eat all the leaves from every tree in the field. 6 They will fill all your houses, and all your officials’ houses, and all the houses in Egypt. There will be more locusts than your fathers or your grandfathers have ever seen. There will be more locusts than there have ever been since people began living in Egypt.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7 Then the officials asked Pharaoh, “How long will we be trapped by these people? Let the men go to worship the Lord their God. If you don’t let them go, before you know it, Egypt will be destroyed!”
8 So Pharaoh told his officials to bring Moses and Aaron back to him. Pharaoh said to them, “Go and worship the Lord your God. But tell me, just who is going?”
9 Moses answered, “All of our people, young and old, will go. And we will take our sons and daughters, and our sheep and cattle with us. We will all go because the Lord’s festival is for all of us.”
10 Pharaoh said to them, “The Lord really will have to be with you before I let you and all of your children leave Egypt. Look, you are planning something evil. 11 The men can go worship the Lord. That is what you asked for in the beginning. But all of your people cannot go.” Then Pharaoh sent Moses and Aaron away.
12 The Lord told Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt and the locusts will come! They will spread all over the land of Egypt and will eat all the plants that the hail did not destroy.”
13 So Moses raised his walking stick over the land of Egypt, and the Lord caused a strong wind to blow from the east. The wind blew all that day and night. When morning came, the wind had brought the locusts to the land of Egypt. 14 The locusts flew into the country of Egypt and landed on the ground. There were more locusts than there had ever been in Egypt. And there will never again be that many locusts there. 15 They covered the ground, and the whole country became dark. The locusts ate every plant on the ground and all the fruit in the trees that the hail had not destroyed. There were no leaves left on any of the trees or plants anywhere in Egypt.
16 Pharaoh quickly called for Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now, forgive me for my sins this time. Ask the Lord to remove this ‘death’ from me.”
18 Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19 So the Lord changed the wind. He made a very strong wind blow from the west, and it blew the locusts out of Egypt and into the Red Sea.[b] Not one locust was left in Egypt! 20 But the Lord caused Pharaoh to be stubborn again, and Pharaoh did not let the Israelites go.
The Darkness
21 Then the Lord told Moses, “Raise your hand into the air and darkness will cover Egypt. It will be so dark you can feel it!”
22 So Moses raised his hand into the air and a cloud of darkness covered Egypt. The darkness stayed in Egypt for three days. 23 None of the people could see each other, and no one got up to go any place for three days. But there was light in all the places where the Israelites lived.
24 Again Pharaoh called for Moses. He said, “Go and worship the Lord! You can take your children with you. But you must leave your sheep and cattle here.”
25 Moses said, “No, we will take them all. In fact, you will give us offerings and sacrifices for us to use in worshiping the Lord our God. 26 Yes, we will take our animals with us to worship the Lord our God. Not one hoof will be left behind. We don’t know yet exactly what we will need to worship the Lord. We will learn that only when we get there.”
27 The Lord made Pharaoh stubborn again, so he refused to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh told Moses, “Get out of here. I don’t want you to come here again. The next time you come to see me, you will die!”
29 Then Moses told Pharaoh, “You are right about one thing. I will not come to see you again.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 10:3 Hebrews Or “Israelites.” This name might also mean “descendants of Eber” (read Gen. 10:25-31) or “people from beyond the Euphrates River.”
- Exodus 10:19 Red Sea Or “Reed Sea.” See 1 Kings 9:26.
Exodus 10
Names of God Bible
The Eighth Plague—Locusts
10 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. I have made him and his officials stubborn so that I can do these miraculous signs among them. 2 You will be able to tell your children and grandchildren exactly how I treated the Egyptians and what miraculous signs I did among them. This is how you will all know that I am Yahweh.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what Yahweh Elohim of the Hebrews says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself in my presence? Let my people go to worship me. 4 If you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country. 5 They will cover the land so that the ground can’t be seen. They will eat everything left by the hail, including every tree still standing in the fields. 6 They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and those of all the Egyptians. Your parents and ancestors never saw anything like this from the time they first came here until now.” Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7 Then Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man hold us in his grip? Let the Israelite men go to worship Yahweh their Elohim. When will you realize that Egypt is ruined?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship Yahweh your Elohim,” he said to them. “But exactly who will be going?”
9 Moses answered, “Everyone! We’ll be taking our young and old, our sons and daughters, our flocks and herds with us. For us it’s a pilgrimage festival in Yahweh’s honor.”
10 Pharaoh said to them, “Yahweh would have to be with you if I would ever let you take your women and children along. I know you’re up to no good! 11 No! Only the men may go to worship Yahweh, since that’s what you’ve been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were thrown out of Pharaoh’s palace.
12 Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over Egypt to bring locusts. They will invade Egypt and eat up every plant in the land—everything left by the hail.”
13 Moses held his staff over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh made a wind from the east blow over the land all that day and all that night. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 They invaded all of Egypt and landed all over the country in great swarms. Never before had there been so many locusts like this, nor would there ever be that many again. 15 They covered all the ground until it was black with them. They ate all the plants and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt.
16 Then Pharaoh quickly called for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against Yahweh your Elohim and against you. 17 Please forgive my sin one more time. Pray to Yahweh your Elohim to take this deadly plague away from me.”
18 Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh. 19 Then Yahweh changed the wind to a very strong west wind. It picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt.
20 But Yahweh made Pharaoh stubborn, so he did not let the Israelites go.
The Ninth Plague—Darkness
21 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward the sky, and a darkness so thick that it can be felt will come over Egypt.” 22 Moses lifted his hand toward the sky, and throughout Egypt there was total darkness for three days. 23 People couldn’t see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the Israelites had light where they were living.
24 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and said, “Go, worship Yahweh! Even your women and children may go with you, but your flocks and herds must stay behind.”
25 But Moses said, “You must allow us to take our animals for the sacrifices and burnt offerings we have to make to Yahweh our Elohim. 26 All our livestock must go with us. Not one animal must be left behind. We’ll have to use some of them for worshiping Yahweh our Elohim, and we won’t know what we’ll need until we get there.”
27 But Yahweh made Pharaoh stubborn, so he refused to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Don’t ever let me see your face again. The day I do, you will die.”
29 “You’re right!” Moses answered. “You’ll never see my face again.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.