^10:14The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory⁴⁷ of Egypt. It was very severe;⁴⁸ there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again.⁴⁹^10:15They covered⁵⁰ the surface⁵¹ of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them,⁵² and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt.

^10:16⁵³ Then Pharaoh quickly⁵⁴ summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned⁵⁵ against the Lord your God and against you! ^10:17So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only⁵⁶ take this death⁵⁷ away from me.”

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Footnotes

47 Heb “border.”
48 This is an interpretive translation. The clause simply has כָּבֵד מְאֹד (kaved mé’od), the stative verb with the adverb—“it was very heavy.” The description prepares for the following statement about the uniqueness of this locust infestation.
49 Heb “after them.”
50 Heb “and they covered.”
51 Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 5; Num 22:5, 11).
52 The verb is וַתֶּחְשַׁךְ (vattekhshakh, “and it became dark”). The idea is that the ground had the color of the swarms of locusts that covered it.
53 The third part of the passage now begins, the confrontation that resulted from the onslaught of the plague. Pharaoh goes a step further here—he confesses he has sinned and adds a request for forgiveness. But his acknowledgment does not go far enough, for this is not genuine confession. Since his heart was not yet submissive, his confession was vain.
54 The Piel preterite וַיְמַהֵר (vaymaher) could be translated “and he hastened,” but here it is joined with the following infinitive construct to form the hendiadys. “He hurried to summon” means “He summoned quickly.”
55 The severity of the plague prompted Pharaoh to confess his sin against Yahweh and them, now in much stronger terms than before. He also wants forgiveness—but in all probability what he wants is relief from the consequences of his sin. He pretended to convey to Moses that this was it, that he was through sinning, so he asked for forgiveness “only this time.”
56 Pharaoh’s double emphasis on “only” uses two different words and was meant to deceive. He was trying to give Moses the impression that he had finally come to his senses, and that he would let the people go. But he had no intention of letting them out.
57 “Death” is a metonymy that names the effect for the cause. If the locusts are left in the land it will be death to everything that grows.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they 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. Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The locusts went up over the entire land of Egypt and settled on the whole territory of Egypt. Never before had there been such a large number of locusts, and there never will be again. They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to the Lord your God, so that he will just take this death away from me.”

NLTNew Living Translation

And the locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt, settling in dense swarms from one end of the country to the other. It was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history, and there has never been another one like it. For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you,” he confessed. “Forgive my sin, just this once, and plead with the Lord your God to take away this death from me.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and they settled in all the territory of Egypt, very severe. Before it there were not locusts like them, nor will there be after it. And they covered the surface of all the land, and the land was dark with them, and they ate all the vegetation of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left, and no green was left in the trees nor in the vegetation of the field in all the land of Egypt.

And Pharaoh hurried to call Moses and Aaron, and he said, “I have sinned against Yahweh your God and against you. And now forgive my sin surely this time, and pray to Yahweh your God so that he may only remove from me this death.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only.

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