The Eighth Plague: Locusts

1And YHWH said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have made heavy† his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may set these signs of Mine before him, 2and so that you may recount in the ears of your son and the son of your son how I have dealt severely with Egypt, and My signs that I have set among them, and you⁺ shall know that I am YHWH.”

3And Moses came in—and Aaron—to Pharaoh, and they said to him, “Thus says YHWH God of the Hebrews, ‘Until when will you refuse to humble yourself before My face? Send out My people, that they may serve Me. 4For if you refuse to send out My people, behold, tomorrow I am bringing the locust into your territory. 5And it shall cover the eye of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. And it shall eat the remnant of what is left, what remains for you⁺ from the hail, and it shall eat every tree that grows for you⁺ from the field. 6And they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all Egypt—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, from the day that they were on the earth to this day.’”

And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

7And the servants of Pharaoh said to him, “Until when shall this one be a snare to us? Send out the men, that they may serve YHWH their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt has perished?”

8And Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve YHWH your⁺ God! Who and who are the ones going?”

9And Moses said, “With our young and with our old we will go, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds we will go, for it is a feast of YHWH for us.”

10And he said to them, “Thus may YHWH be with you⁺ when I send out you⁺, and your⁺ little ones. See, for evil is before your⁺ faces. 11Not so! Go now, the men, and serve YHWH. For that is what you⁺ are seeking.” And they were driven out from the face of Pharaoh.

12And YHWH said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locust, and they shall go up upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant of the land—all that the hail has left.”

13And Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and YHWH drove an east wind over the land all that day and all the night. And when it was the morning, the east wind brought the locust.

14And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt and rested in all the territory of Egypt. It was very severe; before them there had never been such a locust as it, and after it there shall never be such. 15And it covered the eye of all the land, and the land was darkened. And it ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. And there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field in all the land of Egypt.

16And Pharaoh hurried to call for Moses and for Aaron and said, “I have sinned against YHWH your⁺ God and against you⁺. 17And now forgive, please, my sin only this once, and pray to YHWH your⁺ God He may take away from me only this death.”

18And he went out from Pharaoh, and he prayed to YHWH. 19And YHWH turned a very mighty sea wind, and it lifted up the locust and blew it into the Red Sea.† There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt.

20And YHWH strengthened† the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not send out the sons of Israel.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

21And YHWH said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the heavens, and there shall be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.”

22And Moses stretched out his hand toward the heavens, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23They could not see, each man his brother, and no man rose from his place for three days. And for all the sons of Israel there was light in their dwellings.

24And Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve YHWH. Only your⁺ flocks and your⁺ herds shall stay behind; also your⁺ little ones shall go with you⁺.”

25And Moses said, “You also must give into our hands sacrifices and burnt offerings, and we shall make them to YHWH our God. 26And also our livestock shall go with us. Not a hoof shall remain, for from it we shall take to serve YHWH our God, and we do not know with what we shall serve YHWH until we arrive there.”

27And YHWH strengthened the heart of Pharaoh, and he was not willing to send them out. 28And Pharaoh said to him, “Go away from me! Take heed to yourself—do not again see my face! For in the day you see my face, you shall die!”

29And Moses said, “Thus you have spoken! I will not ever again see your face!”