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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]. 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.”

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. If you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your ·country [land]. 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. 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].

·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]?”

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?”

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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