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Exodus chapter 10

English Standard Version

1Then 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 that 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, that 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 humble 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 locusts into your country, 5and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat 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 your 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, "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 we must hold a feast to the Lord." 10But he said to them, "The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. 11No! 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, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat 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. 14The 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. 15They 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. 16Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me." 18So he 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 into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh 's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness 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 all the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go, serve the Lord; your 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 hardened 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! I will not see your face again."
New International Version

1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them 2that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord."
3So 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 that they may worship me. 4If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. 5They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. 6They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’ " Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7Pharaoh’s officials said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?"
8Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the Lord your God," he said. "But tell me who will be going."
9Moses answered, "We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord."
10Pharaoh said, "The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. 11No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.
12And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail."
13So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; 14they 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. 15They 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.
16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me."
18Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. 20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt." 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
24Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind."
25But Moses said, "You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. 26Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord."
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die."
29"Just as you say," Moses replied. "I will never appear before you again."
New American Standard Bible

1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may perform these signs of Mine among them, 2and that you may tell in the presence of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord.'
3So 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 that they may serve Me. 4For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5And they will cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has survived—what is left to you from the hail—and they will eat every tree of yours which grows in the field. 6Then your houses will be filled with them, together with the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they came upon the earth until this day.’?' And he turned and left Pharaoh. 7Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, 'How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?' 8So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, 'Go, serve the Lord your God! Who specifically are the ones who are going?' 9Moses said, 'We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.' 10Then he said to them, 'So may the Lord be with you, when I let you and your little ones go! Watch out, for evil is on your mind! 11Not so! Go now, but only the men among you, and serve the Lord, since that is what you desire.' So they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out with your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat every plant of the land, everything that the hail has left.' 13So Moses reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again. 15For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Therefore nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt. 16Then Pharaoh hurriedly called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, 'I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17So now, please forgive my sin only this once, and plead with the Lord your God, that He would only remove this death from me.' 18Then he left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19So the Lord shifted the wind to a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. 20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.' 22So Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24Then Pharaoh called for Moses, and said, 'Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be left behind. Even your little ones may go with you.' 25But Moses said, 'You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may sacrifice them to the Lord our God. 26Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the Lord our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the Lord.' 27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28Then Pharaoh said to him, 'Get away from me! Be careful, do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you shall die!' 29Moses said, 'You have spoken correctly; I shall never see your face again!'
Christian Standard Bible

1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of mine among them, 2and so that you may tell your son and grandson how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am the Lord."
3So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told 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, that they may worship me. 4But if you refuse to let my people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5They will cover the surface of the land so that no one will be able to see the land. They will eat the remainder left to you that escaped the hail; they will eat every tree you have growing in the fields. 6They will fill your houses, all your officials’ houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians—something your fathers and grandfathers never saw since the time they occupied the land until today." Then he turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.
7Pharaoh’s officials asked him, "How long must this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Don’t you realize yet that Egypt is devastated?"
8So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the Lord your God," Pharaoh said. "But exactly who will be going?"
9Moses replied, "We will go with our young and with our old; we will go with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds because we must hold the Lord’s festival."
10He said to them, "The Lord would have to be with you if I would ever let you and your families go! Look out—you’re heading for trouble. 11No, go—just able-bodied men—worship the Lord, since that’s what you want." And they were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.
12The Lord then said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, and the locusts will come up over it and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail left." 13So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord sent an east wind over the land all that day and through the night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts. 14The 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. 15They 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.
16Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17Please 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." 18Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord. 19Then the Lord changed the wind to a strong west wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. 20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt." 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. 23One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.
24Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, worship the Lord. Even your families may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind."
25Moses responded, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to prepare for the Lord our God. 26Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind because we will take some of them to worship the Lord our God. We will not know what we will use to worship the Lord until we get there."
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go. 28Pharaoh said to him, "Leave me! Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die."
29"As you have said," Moses replied, "I will never see your face again."
New Living Translation

1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. 2I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them — and so you will know that I am the Lord.'
3So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, 'This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me. 4If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country. 5They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields. 6They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!' And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7Pharaoh’s officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. 'How long will you let this man hold us hostage? Let the men go to worship the Lord their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?'
8So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. 'All right,' he told them, 'go and worship the Lord your God. But who exactly will be going with you?'
9Moses replied, 'We will all go — young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.'
10Pharaoh retorted, 'The Lord will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan. 11Never! Only the men may go and worship the Lord, since that is what you requested.' And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.
12Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring on the locusts. Let them cover the land and devour every plant that survived the hailstorm.'
13So Moses raised his staff over Egypt, and the Lord caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and through the night. When morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14And 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. 15For 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.
16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. 'I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you,' he confessed. 17Forgive my sin, just this once, and plead with the Lord your God to take away this death from me.'
18So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and pleaded with the Lord. 19The Lord responded by shifting the wind, and the strong west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt. 20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.' 22So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days. 23During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.
24Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses. 'Go and worship the Lord,' he said. 'But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you.'
25No,' Moses said, 'you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God. 26All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there.'
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them go. 28Get out of here!' Pharaoh shouted at Moses. 'I’m warning you. Never come back to see me again! The day you see my face, you will die!'
29Very well,' Moses replied. 'I will never see your face again.'
King James Version

1And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: 2And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the Lord.
3And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. 4Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: 5And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field: 6And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.
7And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?
8And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go? 9And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.
10And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. 11Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
12And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. 13And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14And 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. 15For 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.
16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17Now 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. 18And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. 19And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. 20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. 21And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
22And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: 23They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.
25And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. 26Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither.
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. 28And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. 29And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.
New King James Version

1Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”
3So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And 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 know that Egypt is destroyed?”
8So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?”
9And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”
10Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. 11Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.
16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” 18So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. 19And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. 20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick 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 all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.”
25But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”
29So Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”

What does Exodus chapter 10 mean?

God sent Moses to deliver a command to the pharaoh of Egypt: release the captive Hebrew people (Exodus 1:11–14; 3:7–10, 18–22). Despite hearing this command many times (Exodus 5:1; 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13), the king is stubborn (Exodus 5:2; 7:13–14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34). This defiance has led to seven catastrophes which have battered the nation (Exodus 7:21; 8:6, 17, 24; 9:6, 10, 24). After the most recent plague, Pharaoh once again broke his word about releasing the Israelites (Exodus 9:34–35). After choosing rebellion so many times (Proverbs 29:1), Pharaoh will now be used as an illustration of divine judgment (Exodus 4:21), with no meaningful ability to repent.

The Lord tells Moses that Pharaoh will never agree to release the Israelites. Instead, he will be used to demonstrate the Lord's power to all the people of earth and for all of history (Exodus 3:20). God's purpose in these plagues has not been petty revenge. Instead, these events are opportunities to recognize His power and act accordingly (Exodus 10:1–2).

As commanded, Moses and Aaron (Exodus 4:14–16) rebuke Pharoah for his pride and stubbornness. They repeat the Lord's command to release the Hebrews. This comes with the threat of an eighth disaster. If Pharoah will not free God's people, Egypt will experience the worst locust plague the nation has ever seen. Everything which managed to survive the recent hailstorm (Exodus 9:31–32) will be lost (Exodus 10:3–6).

Locusts are a form taken on by common grasshoppers. These insects are normally reserved and solitary. Under certain conditions, they breed a generation with unusual traits. Now called "locusts," they are compelled to swarm in dense groups. They are aggressive, quick to breed, and insatiable eaters. Swarms of locusts can join or grow into clouds the size of entire nations. Called "plagues," even outside the Bible, hordes of locusts can devour an entire region's vegetation—including human crops—within hours or days before moving on to the next area. Further, the insects are noisy, disruptive, and filthy. Pharaoh's advisors are sensibly terrified of facing such an event. They plead with their king to negotiate with Moses; their plan is to let only the Israelite men leave (Exodus 10:7).

Pharoah's attempt to bargain immediately fails. Both he and Moses know that if some Israelites are kept in Egypt, the others will be reluctant to leave. If all the Hebrews go, none of them are coming back into slavery. Moses makes it clear that every Israelite must be freed to serve God. Pharaoh makes a snide remark about Yahweh's favor (Exodus 3:15) and angrily dismisses Moses (Exodus 10:8–11).

Following the Lord's command, Moses gestures with his staff to trigger the plague of locusts. Overnight, an east wind brings the worst locust infestation Egypt will ever experience. The insects are so numerous that they blot out sunlight and cover every surface. The locusts eat everything plant-based in the region, leaving nothing (Exodus 10:12–15).

In a panic, Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron to plead for relief, claiming that what he has done is sinful. Pharaoh asks for forgiveness. Moses prays on the king's behalf, and God reverses the winds to drive every single locust out of the nation. Yet Pharaoh, under God's judgment for his constant disobedience (Exodus 4:21), still refuses to release the people (Exodus 10:16–20).

This leads to another divine demonstration. God sends three days of darkness on the Egyptians. This might have been a supernatural blackness, or a blocking of the sun by clouds, sandstorm, or other means. The darkness is so deep, and possibly so terrifying, that the Egyptians huddle in their homes without meeting or seeing one another. To highlight the lesson, the land of Goshen (Genesis 47:6) is spared from this event (Exodus 10:21–23).

Rather than submit, Pharaoh again tries to bargain. Moses rejects the offer to take the Israeli people but leave their livestock. This seems to push Pharaoh over the edge. He threatens to kill Moses if the two of them ever meet again. Moses replies with what amounts to a calm, possibly sarcastic shrug (Exodus 10:24–29).

This will lead to Moses announcing the final, most devastating plague (Exodus 11:4).
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