Exodus 10

Exodus 10:1 Then Yahveh told Moses, “Go see Pharaoh, because I have hardened his heart and the heart of his slaves, in order that I may show these, my signs, among them,

Exodus 10:2 and in order that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have humiliated the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, so that you may know that I am Yahveh.”

Exodus 10:3 So Moses and Aaron saw Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what Yahveh, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Send my people away, so that they may serve me.

Exodus 10:4 Because if you refuse to send my people away, notice, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory,

Exodus 10:5 and they will cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they will eat whatever is left to you that escaped the hail, and they will eat every tree of yours that is growing in the orchard,

Exodus 10:6 and they will fill your houses and the houses of all your slaves and of all the Egyptians, something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came to the land to this day. ‘Then he turned around and went out from Pharaoh.

Exodus 10:7 Then Pharaoh’s slaves said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Send the husbands away, that they may serve Yahveh their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is destroyed?”

Exodus 10:8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve Yahveh your God. But which ones are to go?”

Exodus 10:9 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 must hold a feast to Yahveh.”

Exodus 10:10 But he said to them, “Let it be so” Yahveh be with you, when I send you and your little ones away! See, you have evil in mind.

Exodus 10:11 Not so! Go now, the men among you, and serve Yahveh, because that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

Exodus 10:12 Then Yahveh told 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.”

Exodus 10:13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and Yahveh 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.

Exodus 10:14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and rested on the whole territory of Egypt; it had never been so very heavy with locusts before, nor will it ever be again.

Exodus 10:15 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 from 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.

Exodus 10:16 Then Pharaoh quickly called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have failed Yahveh your God, and against you.

Exodus 10:17 So now, forgive my sin, please, this time, and plead with Yahveh your God to remove this sure death from me.”

Exodus 10:18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with Yahveh.

Exodus 10:19 And Yahveh turned a very strong sea wind, which removed the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.

Exodus 10:20 But Yahveh made Pharaoh’s heart strong, and he did not send the sons of Israel away.

Exodus 10:21 Then Yahveh told Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt and let that darkness cause people to feel around with their hands.”

Exodus 10:22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was deep darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.

Exodus 10:23 No man saw his brother, nor did any man leave from under his roof for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.

Exodus 10:24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve Yahveh; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.”

Exodus 10:25 But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and ascending[1] offerings, so that we may present them to Yahveh our God.

Exodus 10:26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind, because we must take of them to serve Yahveh our God, and we will not know with what we must serve Yahveh until we arrive there.”

Exodus 10:27 But Yahveh made Pharaoh’s heart strong, and he would not let them go.

Exodus 10:28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Go away from me; keep yourself from ever seeing my face again, because on the day you see my face you will die.”

Exodus 10:29 Moses said, “You said that right! I will never again see your face.”

[1] עֹלָה = ascending. Exodus 10:25; 18:12; 20:24; 24:5; 29:18, 25, 42; 30:9, 28; 31:9; 32:6; 35:16; 38:1; 40:6, 10, 29.

Exodus 10 quotes:

“Clouds of locusts swept over the land blocking out the sun. They picked the trees clean, as well as herbs and crops of the field. Exodus 10:14 tells how the effects of the plague were so devastating that nothing like it had ever been witnessed in history. This was the eighth plague and would have been seen as a defeat of Oswiris (known to the Greeks as Osiris), who was supposed to be the protector of crops. His burial was often reenacted annually in ancient Egypt, and his “resurrection” was evidenced by corn sprouting from the site which the Egyptians believed was his grave.””

Long, James D. The Riddle of the Exodus. Lightcatcher Books, 2002. p. 86.

“10:1-2 / “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials.” The first two verses of Exodus 10 give reasons (“so that”) for the Lord’s actions. The explanations are brief, but they are critical to understanding who the Lord is. The focus is on the Israelites and their progeny: so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren.”

Bruckner, James K. Exodus. Hendrickson Publishers ; Paternoster, 2008. p. 96.

“Moses insisted, “Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind” (Exodus 10:26). All we have and are is needed to serve our God. Sacrificing to Jehovah involves everything. A Christian commitment is not merely spiritual, it is a lifestyle touching the warp and woof of everyday life. Our person and our possessions are involved.”

Briscoe, Jill. Here Am I, Lord– Send Somebody Else : How God Uses Ordinary People to Do Extraordinary Things. W Pub. Group, 2004. p. 67.