Exodus 11
English Standard Version
A Final Plague Threatened
11 The Lord said to Moses, “Yet (A)one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. (B)When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that (C)they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 (D)And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.
4 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: (E)‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is (F)behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 (G)There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7 But not a dog shall growl (H)against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord (I)makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 And (J)all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, (K)“Pharaoh will not listen to you, that (L)my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord (M)hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.
Exodus 11
International Children’s Bible
The Death of the Firstborn
11 Now the Lord had told Moses, “I have one more way to punish the king and the people of Egypt. After this, the king will send all of you away from Egypt. When he does, he will force you to leave completely. 2 Tell the men and women of Israel to ask their neighbors for things made of silver and gold.” 3 The Lord had caused the Egyptians to respect the Israelites. The king’s officers and the Egyptian people already considered Moses to be a great man.
4 So Moses said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight tonight I will go through all Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die. The firstborn son of the king, who sits on his throne, will die. Even the firstborn of the slave girl grinding grain will die. Also the firstborn farm animals will die. 6 There will be loud crying everywhere in Egypt. It will be worse than any time before or after this. 7 But not even a dog will bark at the Israelites or their animals.’ Then you will know that the Lord treats Israel differently from Egypt. 8 Then all your officers will come to me. They will bow facedown to the ground before me. They will say, ‘Leave and take all your people with you.’ After that, I will leave.” Then Moses very angrily left the king.
9 The Lord had told Moses, “The king will not listen to you and Aaron. This is so that I may do many miracles in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these great miracles in front of the king. But the Lord made him stubborn. And the king would not let the people of Israel leave his country.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
