Exodus 10–11

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

10Then 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, ²and ^sthat 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, ^tthat you may know that I am the Lord.”

³So 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 ^uhumble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. ⁴For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring ^vlocusts into your country, ⁵and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall ^weat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, ⁶and they shall fill ^xyour 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.

⁷Then 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?” ⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, ^y“Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” ⁹Moses 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 ^zwe must hold a feast to the Lord.” ¹⁰But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your ^alittle ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.^{1 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.

¹²Then the Lord said to Moses, ^b“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and ^ceat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” ¹³So 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. ^14dThe locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, ^esuch a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. ¹⁵They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and ^fthey 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. ¹⁶Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, ^g“I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. ¹⁷Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and ^hplead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” ¹⁸So ⁱhe went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. ¹⁹And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them ^jinto the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. ²⁰But the Lord ^khardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹Then the Lord said to Moses, ^l“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ^mdarkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” ²²So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. ²³They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but ⁿall the people of Israel had light where they lived. ²⁴Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, ^o“Go, serve the Lord; ^pyour little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” ²⁵But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. ²⁶Our 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.” ²⁷But the Lord ^qhardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. ²⁸Then 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.” ²⁹Moses said, “As you say! ^rI will not see your face again.”

A Final Plague Threatened

11The Lord said to Moses, “Yet ^sone plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. ^tWhen he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. ²Speak now in the hearing of the people, that ^uthey ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” ^3vAnd 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.

⁴So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ^w‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, ⁵and 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 ^xbehind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. ^6yThere shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. ⁷But not a dog shall growl ^zagainst any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord ^amakes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ ⁸And ^ball 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. ⁹Then the Lord said to Moses, ^c“Pharaoh will not listen to you, that ^dmy wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord ^ehardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.