The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 ADONAI said to Moshe, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants hardhearted, so that I can demonstrate these signs of mine among them,
1
And the Lord said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh: for I have made his heart and the hearts of his servants hard, so that I may let my signs be seen among them:
2 so that you can tell your son and grandson about what I did to Egypt and about my signs that I demonstrated among them, and so that you will all know that I am ADONAI."
2
And so that you may be able to give to your son and to your son's son the story of my wonders in Egypt, and the signs which I have done among them; so that you may see that I am the Lord.
3 Moshe and Aharon went in to Pharaoh and said to him, "Here is what ADONAI, God of the Hebrews, says: 'How much longer will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so that they can worship me.
3
Then Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you be lifted up in your pride before me? let my people go so that they may give me worship.
4 Otherwise, if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.
4
For if you will not let my people go, tomorrow I will send locusts into your land:
5 One won't be able to see the ground, so completely will the locusts cover it. They will eat anything you still have that escaped the hail, including every tree you have growing in the field.
5
And the face of the earth will be covered with them, so that you will not be able to see the earth: and they will be the destruction of everything which up to now has not been damaged, everything which was not crushed by the ice-storm, and every tree still living in your fields.
6 They will fill your houses and those of your servants and of all the Egyptians. It will be like nothing your fathers or their fathers have ever seen since the day they were born until today.'"Then he turned his back and left.
6
And your houses will be full of them, and the houses of your servants and of all the Egyptians; it will be worse than anything your fathers have seen or their fathers, from the day when they were living on the earth till this day. And so he went out from Pharaoh.
7 Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How much longer must this fellow be a snare for us? Let the people go and worship ADONAI their God. Don't you understand yet that Egypt is being destroyed?"
7
And Pharaoh's servants said to him, How long is this man to be the cause of evil to us? let the men go so that they may give worship to the Lord their God: are you not awake to Egypt's danger?
8 So Moshe and Aharon were brought to Pharaoh again, and he said to them, "Go, worship ADONAI your God. But who exactly is going?"
8
Then Moses and Aaron came in again before Pharaoh: and he said to them, Go and give worship to the Lord your God: but which of you are going?
9 Moshe answered, "We will go with our young and our old, our sons and our daughters; and we will go with our flocks and herds; for we must celebrate a feast to ADONAI."
9
And 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 are to keep a feast to the Lord.
10 Pharaoh said to them, "ADONAI certainly will be with you if I ever let you go with your children! It's clear that you are up to no good.
10
And he said to them, May the Lord be with you, if I will let you and your little ones go! take care, for your purpose clearly is evil.
11 Nothing doing! Just the men among you may go and worship ADONAI. That's what you want, isn't it?"And they were driven out of Pharaoh's presence.
11
Not so; but let your males go and give worship to the Lord, as your desire is. This he said, driving them out from before him.
12 ADONAI said to Moshe, "Reach out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that locusts will invade the land and eat every plant that the hail has left."
12
And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out over the land of Egypt so that the locusts may come up on the land for the destruction of every green plant in the land, even everything untouched by the ice-storm.
13 Moshe reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and ADONAI caused an east wind to blow on the land all day and all night; and in the morning the east wind brought the locusts.
13
And Moses' rod was stretched out over the land of Egypt, and the Lord sent an east wind over the land all that day and all the night; and in the morning the locusts came up with the east wind.
14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled throughout Egypt's territory. It was an invasion more severe than there had ever been before or will ever be again.
14
And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, resting on every part of the land, in very great numbers; such an army of locusts had never been seen before, and never will be again.
15 They completely covered the ground, so that the ground looked black. They ate every plant growing from the ground and all the fruit of the trees left by the hail. Not one green thing remained, not a tree and not a plant in the field, in all the land of Egypt.
15
For all the face of the earth was covered with them, so that the land was black; and every green plant and all the fruit of the trees which was untouched by the ice-storm they took for food: not one green thing, no plant or tree, was to be seen in all the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh hurried to summon Moshe and Aharon and said, "I have sinned against ADONAI your God and against you.
16
Then Pharaoh quickly sent for Moses and Aaron, and said, I have done evil against the Lord your God and against you.
17 Now, therefore, please forgive my sin just this once; and intercede with ADONAI your God, so that he will at least take away from me this deadly plague!"
17
Let me now have forgiveness for my sin this time only, and make prayer to the Lord your God that he will take away from me this death only.
18 He went out from Pharaoh and interceded with ADONAI.
18
So he went out from Pharaoh and made prayer to the Lord.
19 ADONAI reversed the wind and made it blow very strongly from the west. It took up the locusts and drove them into the Sea of Suf; not one locust remained on Egyptian soil.
19
And the Lord sent a very strong west wind, which took up the locusts, driving them into the Red Sea; not one locust was to be seen in any part of Egypt.
20 But ADONAI made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he didn't let the people of Isra'el go.
20
But the Lord made Pharaoh's heart hard, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
21 ADONAI said to Moshe, "Reach out your hand toward the sky, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness so thick it can be felt!"
21
And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out to heaven, and all the land of Egypt will be dark, so that men will be feeling their way about in the dark.
22 Moshe reached out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days.
22
And when Moses' hand was stretched out, dark night came over all the land of Egypt for three days;
23 People couldn't see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the people of Isra'el had light in their homes.
23
They were not able to see one another, and no one got up from his place for three days: but where the children of Israel were living it was light.
24 Pharaoh summoned Moshe and said, "Go, worship ADONAI; only leave your flocks and herds behind - your children may go with you."
24
Then Pharaoh sent for Moses, and said, Go and give worship to the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept here: your little ones may go with you.
25 Moshe answered, "You must also see to it that we have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we can sacrifice to ADONAI our God.
25
But Moses said, You will have to let us take burned offerings to put before the Lord our God.
26 Our livestock will also go with us - not a hoof will be left behind - because we must choose some of them to worship ADONAI our God, and we don't know which ones we will need to worship ADONAI until we get there."
26
So our cattle will have to go with us, not one may be kept back; for they are needed for the worship of the Lord our God; we have no knowledge what offering we have to give till we come to the place.
27 But ADONAI made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he would not let them go.
27
But the Lord made Pharaoh's heart hard, and he would not let them go.
28 Pharaoh said to them, "Get away from me! And you had better not see my face again, because the day you see my face, you will die!"
28
And Pharaoh said to him, Go away from me, take care that you come not again before me; for the day when you see my face again will be your last.
29 Moshe answered, "Well spoken! I will see your face no more."
29
And Moses said, You say truly; I will not see your face again.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.