ExodusChapter 10

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¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart hard, and the hearts of his officials too. I did this so I could do these miraculous signs of mine among them, ²and so you can tell your children and grandchildren how hard I was on the Egyptians. Tell them about the miraculous signs I did among them. Then all of you will know that I am the LORD." ³So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They told him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to be humble before me? Let my people go, so they can worship me. ⁴But if you refuse to let my people go, I will bring locusts into your land tomorrow. ⁵They will cover the ground so that no one can see it. They will eat up whatever the hail left. They will eat every tree growing in your fields. ⁶They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and of every Egyptian. Your fathers and grandfathers have never seen anything like this, from the day they came into this land until now.'" Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh. ⁷Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man be a trap for us? Let the people go, so they can worship the LORD their God. Don't you see yet that Egypt is ruined?" ⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the LORD your God," he said. "But tell me who will be going." ⁹Moses replied, "We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we must hold a feast to honor the LORD." ¹⁰Then Pharaoh said to them, "The LORD would really have to be with you if I ever let you go with your little ones! It's clear you are planning something evil. ¹¹No! Only the men may go and worship the LORD. After all, that is what you have been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence. ¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, "Hold out your hand over the land of Egypt. Then the locusts will swarm over it. They will eat every plant in the land, everything the hail has left." ¹³So Moses held out his staff over the land of Egypt. All that day and all that night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts. ¹⁴The locusts swarmed over the land. They settled down over every part of Egypt. There had never been so many locusts before, and there never will be again. ¹⁵They covered the whole land until it was black. They ate all the plants on the ground. They ate all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt. ¹⁶Pharaoh quickly called for Moses and Aaron. He said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. ¹⁷Now please forgive my sin one more time. Pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me." ¹⁸So Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. ¹⁹And the LORD 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. ²⁰But the LORD made Pharaoh's heart hard, and he would not let the Israelites go. ²¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Hold out your hand toward the sky. Then darkness will spread over the land of Egypt. It will be so dark that people can feel it." ²²So Moses held out his hand toward the sky. Total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days. ²³No one could see anyone else. For three days no one left the place where he was. But all the Israelites had light where they lived. ²⁴Then Pharaoh called for Moses. He said, "Go, worship the LORD. Even your little ones may go with you. Only your flocks and herds must stay here." ²⁵But Moses replied, "You must also give us animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings. We need them to offer to the LORD our God. ²⁶Our animals must go with us too. Not one hoof will be left behind. We will need some of them to worship the LORD our God. And we won't know what we must use to worship the LORD until we get there." ²⁷But the LORD made Pharaoh's heart hard, and he would not let them go. ²⁸Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get away from me! Make sure you never see my face again. On the day you see my face, you will die." ²⁹Moses replied, "Just as you say. I will never see your face again."