Exodus 10

10 ¹ Then our Father 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, ² and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your grandson how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and what signs I did among them, so that you may know that I am your Father."

³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says our Father, the Father of the Hebrews: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may serve me. ⁴ For if you refuse to let my people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. ⁵ They will cover the surface of the land so that no one can see the ground, and they will devour what is left to you after the hail, and they will eat every tree of yours that grows in the field. ⁶ They will fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians — something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen from the day they came upon the earth to this day.'" Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

⁷ 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 their Father. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?"

⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve your Father. But which ones are going?"

⁹ Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds, for we must hold a feast to our Father."

¹⁰ But he said to them, "May the Father be with you, if I ever let you go with your little ones! Watch out — you have evil in mind. ¹¹ No! Let the men go and serve the Father, since that is what you are asking." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

¹² Then our Father said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up over the land of Egypt and eat every plant of the land, all that the hail has left."

¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and our Father drove an east wind across the land all that day and all that night. When morning came, the east wind had carried in the locusts. ¹⁴ The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole territory of Egypt — a dense swarm such as there had never been before and never would be again. ¹⁵ They covered the surface of the whole land until the land was darkened, and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained, no tree or plant of the field, in all the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ Then Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against your Father, and against you. ¹⁷ Now therefore, please forgive my sin just this once, and plead with your Father only to take this death away from me."

¹⁸ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with our Father. ¹⁹ And our Father turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and swept them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. ²⁰ But our Father hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the people of Israel go.

Three Days of Darkness

²¹ Then our Father said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, so that darkness may come over the land of Egypt — a darkness that can be felt."

²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and a thick darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days. ²³ No one could see another, and no one rose from his place for three days; but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.

²⁴ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, serve the Father; even your little ones may go with you. Only let your flocks and your herds stay behind."

²⁵ But Moses said, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to our Father. ²⁶ Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof may be left behind, for we will take some of them to serve our Father, and we do not know with what we must serve him until we arrive there."

²⁷ But our Father hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go. ²⁸ Then Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me! See that you never look on my face again, for on the day you see my face you will die."

²⁹ Moses said, "You have spoken rightly. I will never see your face again."