Exodus 11
New King James Version
Death of the Firstborn Announced(A)
11 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. (B)Afterward he will let you go from here. (C)When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, (D)articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3 (E)And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man (F)Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4 Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: (G)‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; 5 and (H)all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. 6 (I)Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, (J)such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. 7 (K)But against none of the children of Israel (L)shall a dog [a]move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’ 8 And (M)all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out.” (N)Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
9 But the Lord said to Moses, (O)“Pharaoh will not heed you, so that (P)My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; (Q)and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
Footnotes
- Exodus 11:7 sharpen
Exodus 11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 11
Tenth Plague: The Death of the Firstborn. 1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: One more plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that he will let you depart. In fact, when he finally lets you go, he will drive you away. 2 (A)Instruct the people that every man is to ask his neighbor, and every woman her neighbor, for silver and gold articles and for clothing. 3 The Lord indeed made the Egyptians well-disposed toward the people; Moses himself was very highly regarded by Pharaoh’s servants and the people in the land of Egypt.
4 Moses then said, “Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go forth through Egypt.(B) 5 (C)Every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave-girl who is at the handmill,[a] as well as all the firstborn of the animals. 6 Then there will be loud wailing throughout the land of Egypt, such as has never been, nor will ever be again. 7 But among all the Israelites, among human beings and animals alike, not even a dog will growl, so that you may know that the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these servants of yours will then come down to me and bow down before me, saying: Leave, you and all your followers!(D) Then I will depart.” With that he left Pharaoh’s presence in hot anger.
9 The Lord said to Moses: Pharaoh will not listen to you so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. 10 Thus, although Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders in Pharaoh’s presence, the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go from his land.
Footnotes
- 11:5 Handmill: two pieces of stone were used to grind grain. A smaller upper stone was moved back and forth over a larger stationary stone. This menial work was done by slaves and captives.
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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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