Exodus 10:1-20

1 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his bondmen, that I might do these my signs in their midst,
2 and that thou mightest tell in the ears of thy son and thy son's son what I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
3 And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah the God of the Hebrews: How long dost thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.
4 For, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, I will to-morrow bring locusts into thy borders;
5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that ye will not be able to see the land; and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which ye have remaining from the hail, and shall eat every tree which ye have growing in the field;
6 and they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy bondmen, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7 And Pharaoh's bondmen said to him, How long shall this man be a snare to us? let the men go, that they may serve Jehovah their God: dost thou not yet know that Egypt is ruined?
8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh. And he said to them, Go, serve Jehovah your God. Who are they that shall go?
9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters; with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we have a feast of Jehovah.
10 And he said to them, Let Jehovah be so with you, as I let you go, and your little ones: see that evil is before you!
11 Not so: go now, ye [that are] men, and serve Jehovah! for it is that ye have desired. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
12 And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up over the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land -- all that the hail hath left.
13 And Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and Jehovah brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt, very grievous; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them will be such.
15 And they covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing on the trees, and in the herbs of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
16 And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against Jehovah your God, and against you.
17 And now, forgive, I pray you, my sin only this time, and intreat Jehovah your God that he may take away from me this death only!
18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated Jehovah.
19 And Jehovah turned a very powerful west wind, which took away the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea: there remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt.
20 And Jehovah made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

Exodus 10:1-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 10

This chapter is introduced with giving the reasons why the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, Ex 10:1,2. Moses and Aaron go in to him, and once more demanded in the name of the Lord the dismission of the people of Israel, and in case of refusal, threatened him with locusts being sent into his country, which should make terrible havoc in all his coasts, Ex 10:3-6, the servants of Pharaoh entreat him to let them go, upon which Moses and Aaron are brought in again, and treated with about the terms of their departure; but they, insisting upon taking all with them, men, women, and children, and flocks and herds, and Pharaoh not willing that any but men should go, they are drove from his presence in wrath, Ex 10:7-11 wherefore the locusts were brought on all the land, which made sad devastation in it, Ex 10:12-15, and this wrought on Pharaoh so far as to acknowledge his sin, pray for forgiveness, and to desire Moses and Aaron to entreat the Lord to remove the plague, which they did, and it was removed accordingly, but still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, Ex 10:16-20 then followed the plague of thick darkness over all the land for three days, which brought Pharaoh to yield that all should go with them excepting their flocks and herds; but Moses not only insisted that not a hoof should be left behind, but that Pharaoh should give them sacrifices and burnt offerings, Ex 10:21-26. Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he refused to comply, and Moses was bid to be gone, and take care never to see his face any more, and which Moses agreed to, Ex 10:27-29.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Lit. 'his.'
  • [b]. Lit. 'the eye:' so in ver. 15. Lit 'so that the land will not be able to be seen.'
  • [c]. Lit. 'who and who.'
  • [d]. Some read 'in enormous quantity,' lit. 'very heavy.' It might read 'a terrible scourge.'
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.