| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display these signs of mine before him, | 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. |
| 2and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell how I made fools of the Egyptians and about my signs that I displayed among them, so that you may know that I am the LORD." | 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 came to Pharaoh and told him, "Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: 'How long do you refuse to humble yourself before me? Release my people so that they may serve me! | 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. |
| 4But if you refuse to release my people, I am going to bring locusts into your territory tomorrow. | 4If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country. |
| 5They will cover the surface of the earth, so that you will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped--what is left over for you--from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field. | 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 fill your houses, the houses of your servants, and all the houses of Egypt, such as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since they have been in the land until this day!'" Then Moses turned and went out from Pharaoh. | 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 servants said to him, "How long will this man be a menace to us? Release the people so that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not know that Egypt is destroyed?" | 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, and he said to them, "Go, serve the LORD your God. Exactly who is going with you?" | 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 said, "We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our sheep and our cattle we will go, because we are to hold a pilgrim feast for the LORD." | 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.” |
| 10He said to them, "The LORD will need to be with you if I release you and your dependents! Watch out! Trouble is right in front of you! | 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. |
| 11No! Go, you men only, and serve the LORD, for that is what you want." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence. | 11Never! Only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you requested.” And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace. |
| 12The LORD said to Moses, "Extend your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up over the land of Egypt and eat everything that grows in the ground, everything that the hail has left." | 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 extended his staff over the land of Egypt, and then the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all night. The morning came, and the east wind had brought up the locusts! | 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. |
| 14The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory of Egypt. It was very severe; there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. | 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. |
| 15They covered the surface of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them, 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. | 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. |
| 16Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you! | 16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you,” he confessed. |
| 17So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the LORD your God that he would only take this death away from me." | 17“Forgive my sin, just this once, and plead with the LORD your God to take away this death from me.” |
| 18Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD, | 18So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and pleaded with the LORD. |
| 19and the LORD turned a very strong west wind, and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. | 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, and he did not release the Israelites. | 20But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go. A Plague of Darkness |
| 21The LORD said to Moses, "Extend your hand toward heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness so thick it can be felt." | 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 extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. | 22So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days. |
| 23No one could see another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. | 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. |
| 24Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, serve the LORD--only your flocks and herds will be detained. Even your families may go with you." | 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.” |
| 25But Moses said, "Will you also provide us with sacrifices and burnt offerings that we may present them to the LORD our God? | 25“No,” Moses said, “you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the LORD our God. |
| 26Our livestock must also go with us! Not a hoof is to be left behind! For we must take these animals to serve the LORD our God. Until we arrive there, we do not know what we must use to serve the LORD." | 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, and he was not willing to release them. | 27But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them go. |
| 28Pharaoh said to him, "Go from me! Watch out for yourself! Do not appear before me again, for when you see my face you will die!" | 28“Get 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!” |
| 29Moses said, "As you wish! I will not see your face again." | 29“Very well,” Moses replied. “I will never see your face again.” |
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