Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for ^aI have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants making them determined and unresponsive, so that I may exhibit My signs of divine power ¹among them, 2 and ^athat you may recount and explain in the hearing of your son, and your grandson, what I have done repeatedly to make a mockery of the Egyptians—My signs of divine power which I have done among them—^bso that you may know without any doubt and recognize clearly that I am the LORD.”

3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to ^ahumble yourself before Me? ^bLet My people go, so that they may serve Me. 4 For if you refuse to let My people go, then hear this: tomorrow I will bring migratory locusts into your country. 5 They shall cover the visible surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the ground, and ^athey will eat the rest of what has remained—that is, the vegetation left after the hail—and they will eat every one of your trees that grows in the field; 6 ^ayour houses and those of all your servants and of all the Egyptians shall be filled with locusts, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from their birth until this day.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh. 7 ^aPharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be ^ba trap to us? Let the men go, so that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron ^awere brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “^bGo, serve the LORD your God! Who specifically are the ones that are going?” 9 Moses said, “^aWe will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, ^bwith our flocks and our herds all of us and all that we have, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.” 10 Pharaoh said to them, “The LORD be with you to help you, if I ever let you go with your children because you will never return! Look be forewarned, ¹you have an ²evil plan in mind. 11 No! Go now, you who are men, without your families and serve the LORD, if that is what you want.” So Moses and Aaron ^awere driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “^aStretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up on the land of Egypt and ^beat all the plants of the land, all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; when it was morning, the east wind had brought the swarms of ^alocusts. 14 ^aThe locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in the whole territory, a very dreadful mass of them; never before were there such locusts as these, nor will there ever be again. 15 For they covered the visible surface of the land, so that the ground was darkened; and they ^aate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained not a green thing on the trees or the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hurried to ^acall for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “^bI have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once more, and ^apray and entreat the LORD your God, so that He will remove this plague of death from me.” 18 ^aMoses left Pharaoh and entreated the LORD. 19 So the LORD shifted the wind to a violent west wind which lifted up the locusts and drove them into the ¹Red Sea; not one locust remained within the border of Egypt. 20 But ^athe LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that it was even more resolved and obstinate, and he did not let the Israelites go.

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “^aStretch out your hand toward the sky, so that ¹darkness may come over the land of Egypt, a darkness ^bwhich is so awful that it may be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and for three days a ^athick darkness was all over the land of Egypt no sun, no moon, no stars. 23 The Egyptians could not see one another, nor did anyone leave his place for three days, ^abut all the Israelites had supernatural light in their dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh ^acalled to Moses, and said, “Go, serve the LORD; only your flocks and your herds must be left behind. Even ^byour children may go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may sacrifice them to the LORD our God. 26 ^aTherefore, our livestock must also go with us; not one hoof shall be left behind, for we must take some of them to serve the LORD our God. Even we do not know with what we will serve the LORD until we arrive there.” 27 But ^athe LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to Moses, “^aGet away from me! See that you never enter my presence again, for on the day that you see my face again you will die!” 29 Then Moses said, “You are correct; ^aI will never see your face again!”