Exodus 10:1-10

1 And the Lord said to Moses, Enter thou to Pharaoh, for I have made hard the heart of him, and of his servants, that I do these signs of me in him (so that I can do my miracles before him/so that I can do my miracles among them);

2 and (so) that thou (can) tell in the ears of thy son(s), and of thy sons? sons, how oft I all-brake the Egyptians, and did signs in them (and did these miracles among them); and (so) that ye know that I am the Lord.

3 Therefore Moses and Aaron entered to Pharaoh, and said to him, The Lord God of (the) Hebrews saith these things, How long wilt thou not be made subject to me? Deliver thou my people, that it make sacrifice to me (Let my people go, so that they can worship me);

4 else soothly if thou against-standest, and wilt not deliver it, lo! I shall bring in tomorrow a locust, that is, a multitude of locusts, into thy coasts, (or else, if thou standest against me, that is, if thou refusest me, and wilt not let them go, lo! tomorrow I shall bring a multitude of locusts into thy land,)

5 that shall cover the over-part of the earth, neither anything thereof shall appear, but that, that was left of the hail shall be eaten of (the) locusts; for the locust(s) shall gnaw all the trees that burgeon in [the] fields; (which shall cover the face of the earth, so that none of it can be seen; and what was left by the hail shall be eaten by the locusts, for the locusts shall gnaw all the trees that grow in the fields;)

6 and they shall full-fill thine houses, and the houses of thy servants, and of all the Egyptians, (by) how great thy fathers and thy grand-sires saw not, since they were born on (the) earth, till into this present day. And Moses turned away himself (And then Moses turned), and went out from Pharaoh.

7 Forsooth the servants of Pharaoh said to him, How long shall we suffer this offense? Deliver the men, that they make sacrifice to their Lord God; seest thou not that Egypt hath perished? (And Pharaoh's servants said to him, How long shall we suffer this tribulation?/How long shall this man bring trouble upon us? Let those people go, so that they can worship the Lord their God; seest thou not that Egypt hath been destroyed?)

8 And they again called Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh, and he said to them, Go ye, and make ye sacrifice to your Lord God; which be they, that shall go? (and he said to them, Go ye, and worship the Lord your God; who be they, who shall go?)

9 Moses said, We shall go with our little children and (our) elders, and with (our) sons, and (our) daughters, (and) with (our) sheep, and (our) great beasts; for it is the solemnity of our Lord God (for it is a Feast unto the Lord our God).

10 And Pharaoh answered, So the Lord be with you ; how therefore shall I deliver you, and your little children? to whom is it doubt(ful), that ye think (not the) worst things? (And Pharaoh answered, And may the Lord be with you! but how can I let you, and your little children, go? for who doubteth, that ye think, or that ye plan, to do only the worst things against me?)

Exodus 10:1-10 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.