1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Go in to Pharao: for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that these signs may come upon them; in order
2. that ye may relate in the ears of your children, and to your children’s children, in how many things I have mocked the Egyptians, and my wonders which I wrought among them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
3. And Moses and Aaron went in before Pharao, and they said to him, These things saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long dost thou refuse to reverence me? Send my people away, that they may serve me.
4. But if thou wilt not send my people away, behold, at this hour to-morrow I will bring an abundance of locusts upon all thy coasts.
5. And they shall cover the face of the earth, and thou shalt not be able to see the earth; and they shall devour all that is left of the abundance of the earth, which the hail has left you, and shall devour every tree that grows for you on the land.
6. And thy houses shall be filled, and the houses of thy servants, and all the houses in all the land of the Egyptians; things which thy fathers have never seen, nor their forefathers, from the day that they were upon the earth until this day. And Moses turned away and departed from Pharao.
7. And the servants of Pharao say to him, How long shall this be a snare to us? send away the men, that they may serve their God; wilt thou know that Egypt is destroyed?
8. And they brought back both Moses and Aaron to Pharao; and he said to them, Go and serve the Lord your God; but who are they that are going with you?
9. And Moses said, We will go with the young and the old, with our sons, and daughters, and sheep, and oxen, for it is a feast of the Lord.
10. And he said to them, So let the Lord be with you: as I will send you away, must I send away you store also? see that [i. e. moral evil; but another reading is prokeitai, which is nearer to the Hebrew] evil is attached to you.
11. Not so, but let the men go and serve God, for this ye yourselves seek; and they cast them out from the presence of Pharao.
12. And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt, and let the locust come up on the land, and it shall devour every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees, which the hail left.
13. And Moses lifted up his rod towards heaven, and the Lord brought a south wind upon the earth, all that day and all that night: the morning dawned, and the south wind brought up the locusts,
14. and brought them up over all the land of Egypt. And they rested in very great abundance over all the borders of Egypt. Before them there were not such locusts, neither after them shall there be.
15. And they covered the face of the earth, and the land was wasted, and they devoured all the herbage of the land, and all the fruit of the trees, which was left by the hail: there was no green thing left on the trees, nor on all the herbage of the field, in all the land of Egypt.
16. And Pharao hasted to call Moses and Aaron, saying, I have sinned before the Lord your God, and against you;
17. [Gr. accept or allow] pardon therefore my sin yet this time, and pray to the Lord your God, and let him take away from me this death.
18. And Moses went forth from Pharao, and prayed to God.
19. And the Lord brought in the opposite direction a strong wind from the sea, and took up the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea, and there was not one locust left in all the land of Egypt.
20. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, and he did not send away the children of Israel.
21. And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand to heaven, and let there be darkness over the land of Egypt—darkness that may be felt.
22. And Moses stretched out his hand to heaven, and there was [Gr. darkness, blackness] darkness very black, even a storm over all the land of Egypt three days.
23. And for three days no man saw his brother, and no man rose up from his bed for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in all the places where they were.
24. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, saying, Go, serve the Lord your God, only [Gr. be left of] leave your sheep and your oxen, and let your store depart with you.
25. And Moses said, Nay, but thou shalt give to us whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices, which we will sacrifice to the Lord our God.
26. And our cattle shall go with us, and we will not leave a hoof behind, for of them we will take to serve the Lord our God: but we know not in what manner we shall serve the Lord our God, until we arrive there.
27. But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, and he would not let them go.
28. And Pharao says, Depart from me, beware of seeing my face again, for in what day thou shalt appear before me, thou shalt die.
29. And Moses says, Thou hast said, I will not appear in thy presence again.