Exodus 10
1 The LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, because I have made his heart and the hearts of his servants stubborn, so that I may perform these signs of mine among them,
2 and so that you may tell your son and grandson what I did in Egypt and the signs I performed among them. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”
3 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so they may serve me.
4 For if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.
5 They will cover the surface of the land so that the ground cannot be seen. They will eat what remains, what the hail left for you, and every tree growing in your fields.
6 They will fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—something your fathers and grandfathers have never seen, from the day they came to live on the earth until today.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.
7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a trap for us? Let the men go, so they may serve the LORD their God. Don’t you realize yet that Egypt is ruined?”
8 Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. But who exactly is going?”
9 Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters, with our sheep and cattle, because we have a festival for the LORD.”
10 He said to them, “May the LORD be with you if I let you go with your children! Look, you have evil intentions.
11 No! The men may go and serve the LORD, since that is what you are asking for.” And he drove them out of Pharaoh’s presence.
12 The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that locusts may come. Let them swarm over the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, everything the hail left behind.”
13 Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind over the land all that day and all night. When morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts.
14 The locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt and settled throughout its territory in vast numbers. There had never been so many locusts before, and there will never be so many again.
15 They covered the surface of the whole land, and the land grew dark. They ate every plant in the land and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or among the plants in the fields throughout the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.
17 Now please forgive my sin just this once, and plead with the LORD your God to take this death away from me.”
18 Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and pleaded with the LORD.
19 The LORD turned the wind into a very strong west wind. It carried the locusts away and drove them into the Sea of Reeds. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt.
20 But the LORD made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn, and he would not let the Israelites go.
21 The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, and darkness will fall over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.”
22 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and dense darkness covered the whole land of Egypt for three days.
23 No one could see anyone else, and no one got up from where he was for three days. But all the Israelites had light where they lived.
24 Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD. Only your sheep and cattle must stay behind. Your children may go with you too.”
25 Moses answered, “You yourself must provide us with sacrifices and burnt offerings for us to offer to the LORD our God.
26 Our livestock will go with us too; not a hoof will be left behind, because we will take some of them to serve the LORD our God. We will not know what we need to offer to the LORD until we get there.”
27 But the LORD made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn, and he was unwilling to let them go.
28 Pharaoh said to him, “Get out of my sight! Be careful not to see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”
29 Moses answered, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”
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