10 7 Pharoah’s servants counsel him to let the Israelites depart. 13 Grasshoppers destroy the country.  16 Pharaoh confesseth his sin. 22 Darkness is sent.

Again the Lord said unto Moses, Go to Pharaoh, (A)for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might work these [a]my miracles in the midst of his realm,

And that thou mayest declare in the [b]ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have done in Egypt, and my miracles, which I have done among them: that ye may know that I am the Lord.

Then came Moses and Aaron unto Pharaoh, and they said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse [c]to humble thyself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

But if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring [d]grasshoppers into thy coasts.

And they shall cover the face of the earth, that a man cannot see the earth: and they shall eat the residue which remaineth unto you, and hath escaped from the hail: and they shall eat all your trees that bud in the field.

And they shall fill thine houses, and all thy servants’ houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians, as neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen, since the time they were upon the earth unto this day. So he returned, and went out from Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall he be [e]an [f]offence unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: wilt thou first know that Egypt is destroyed?

So 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?

And Moses answered, We will go with our young, and with our old, with our sons, and with our daughters, with our sheep, and with our cattle will we go: for we must celebrate a feast unto the Lord.

10 And he said unto them, Let [g]the Lord so be with you, as I will let you go and your children: [h]behold, for evil is before your face.

11 It shall not be so: now go ye that are men, and serve the Lord: for that was your desire. Then they were thrust out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 ¶ After, the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand upon the land of Egypt for the grasshoppers, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat all the herbs of the land, even all that the hail had left.

13 Then Moses stretched forth his rod upon the land of Egypt: and the Lord brought an East wind upon the land all that day, and all that night: and in the morning the East wind brought the [i]grasshoppers.

14 So the grasshoppers went up upon all the land of Egypt, and [j]remained in all quarters of Egypt: so grievous Grasshoppers, like to these were never before, neither after them shall be such.

15 For they covered all the face of the earth, so that the land was dark: and they did eat all the herbs of the land, and all the fruits of the trees, which the hail had left, so that there was no green thing left upon the trees, nor among the herbs of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.

16 Therefore Pharaoh called for [k]Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.

17 And now forgive me my sin only this once, and pray unto the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only.

18 Moses then went out from Pharaoh, and prayed unto the Lord.

19 And the Lord turned a mighty strong West wind, and took away the grasshoppers, and violently cast them into the [l]red Sea, so that there remained not one grasshopper in all the land of Egypt.

20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

21 ¶ Again the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be upon the land of Egypt darkness, even darkness that may be [m]felt.

22 Then Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a [n]black darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.

23 No man saw another, neither rose up from the place where he was for three days: but all the children of Israel had light where they dwelt.

24 Then Pharaoh called for Moses, and said, Go serve the Lord: only your sheep and your cattle shall abide, and your children shall go with you.

25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices, and burnt offerings that we may do sacrifice unto the Lord our God.

26 Therefore our cattle also shall go with us: there shall not an [o]hoof be left, for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God: neither do we know [p]how we shall 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: look thou see my face no more: for whensoever thou comest in my sight, thou shalt [q]die.

29 Then Moses said, Thou hast said well: from henceforth will I see thy face no more.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 10:1 Or, in his presence, or among them.
  2. Exodus 10:2 The miracles should be so great, that they should be spoken of for ever: where also we see the duty of parents toward their children.
  3. Exodus 10:3 The end of affliction is, to humble ourselves with true repentance under the hand of God.
  4. Exodus 10:4 Or, locusts.
  5. Exodus 10:7 Or, snare.
  6. Exodus 10:7 Meaning, the occasion of all these evils: so are the godly ever charged as Elijah was by Ahab.
  7. Exodus 10:10 That is, I would the Lord were no more affectioned toward you, than I am minded to let you go.
  8. Exodus 10:10 Punishment is prepared for you. Some read, Ye intend some mischief.
  9. Exodus 10:13 The eighth plague.
  10. Exodus 10:14 Or, he caused them to remain.
  11. Exodus 10:16 The wicked in their miseries seek to God’s ministers for help, albeit they hate and detest them.
  12. Exodus 10:19 The water seemed red, because the sand or gravel is red: the Hebrews called it the Sea of bulrushes.
  13. Exodus 10:21 Because it was so thick.
  14. Exodus 10:22 The ninth plague.
  15. Exodus 10:26 The ministers of God ought not to yield one iota to the wicked, as touching their charge.
  16. Exodus 10:26 That is, with what beasts, or how many.
  17. Exodus 10:28 Though before he confessed Moses just, yet again his own conscience he threateneth to put him to death.

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and (A)that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, (B)that you may know that I am the Lord.”

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to (C)humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring (D)locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall (E)eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, and they shall fill (F)your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, (G)“Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” 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, for (H)we must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your (I)little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.[a] 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, (J)“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and (K)eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 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 it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 (L)The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, (M)such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and (N)they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, (O)“I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and (P)plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So (Q)he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them (R)into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord (S)hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, (T)“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be (U)darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but (V)all the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, (W)“Go, serve the Lord; (X)your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” 27 But the Lord (Y)hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29 Moses said, “As you say! (Z)I will not see your face again.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 10:10 Hebrew before your face