1 Then the Lord
said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the
heart of his officials, in order that I may show these signs of mine
among them, 2 and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how
I have made fools of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among
them—so that you may know that I am the Lord.’
3 So Moses and Aaron went to
Pharaoh, and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews,
“How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people
go, so that they may worship me. 4 For if you refuse to let my people
go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country. 5 They shall cover
the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land.
They shall devour the last remnant left you after the hail, and they
shall devour every tree of yours that grows in the field. 6 They shall
fill your houses, and the houses of all your officials and of all the
Egyptians—something that neither your parents nor your grandparents have
seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.” ’ Then he turned and
went out from Pharaoh.
7 Pharaoh’s officials said to
him, ‘How long shall this fellow be a snare to us? Let the people go, so
that they may worship the Lord their God; do you not yet understand that
Egypt is ruined?’ 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and
he said to them, ‘Go, worship the Lord your God! But which ones are to
go?’ 9 Moses said, ‘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
have the Lord’s festival to celebrate.’ 10 He said to them, ‘The Lord
indeed will be with you, if ever I let your little ones go with you!
Plainly you have some evil purpose in mind. 11 No, never! Your men may
go and worship the Lord, for that is what you are asking.’ And they were
driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses,
‘Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may
come upon it and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has
left.’ 13 So 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 morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The
locusts came upon 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 shall be again. 15 They covered the surface of the whole land, so
that the land was black; and they ate all the plants in the land and all
the fruit of the trees that the hail had left; nothing green was left,
no tree, no plant in the field, in all 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 Do forgive my sin just this once, and
pray to the Lord your God that at the least he remove this deadly thing
from me.’ 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19 The
Lord changed the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the
locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not a single locust was left in
all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and
he would not let the Israelites go.
21 Then the Lord said to Moses,
‘Stretch out your hand towards heaven so that there may be darkness over
the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.’ 22 So Moses stretched
out his hand towards heaven, and there was dense darkness in all the
land of Egypt for three days. 23 People could not see one another, and
for three days they could not move from where they were; but all the
Israelites had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses,
and said, ‘Go, worship the Lord. Only your flocks and your herds shall
remain behind. Even your children may go with you.’ 25 But Moses said,
‘You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt-offerings to sacrifice
to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof
shall be left behind, for we must choose some of them for the worship of
the Lord our God, and we will not know what to use to worship the Lord
until we arrive there.’ 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he
was unwilling to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, ‘Get away
from me! Take care that you do not see my face again, for on the day you
see my face you shall die.’ 29 Moses said, ‘Just as you say! I will
never see your face again.’
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