1 And the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Judge} said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may set these my signs {ototai: miraculous acts} within his midst.”
2 And so that you may recount in the hearing of your son and your grandson {ben: male descendant} how I have dealt harshly with Egypt and how I have placed my signs among them, so that you may know that I am the LORD {YHWH, Supreme Revealer}.
3 And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God {YHWH Elohei, Sovereign of the Hebrews} of the Hebrews: ‘How long will You refuse {me’anta: stubborn resistance} to humble Yourself before Me? Send My people so that they may serve Me.’”
4 If you refuse to release {lshalleach: forcibly send away} my people, behold, I {YHWH, Judge of Egypt} will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow.
5 And it will cover the surface {ain: visible surface} of the land so that no one will be able to see the land, and it will consume the remnant {pletah: survivors of destruction} that was left to you from the hail, and it will eat every tree that grows for you in the field.
6 And they will fill your houses {bateikha: personal dwellings}, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all Egypt—things which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen from the day they came into being on the land until this day. Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh {Paroh: Egyptian sovereign}.
7 And Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “Until when will this be a snare for us? Send the men so they may serve the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed {avdah: utter destruction}?”
8 And Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve {ivdu: fulfill service} the LORD {YHWH, Supreme Authority} your God; but who and who shall go?”
9 Moses said, “We will go with our young men and with our elders {vizkeneinu: community leaders}, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds; we will go because it is a festival to the LORD {YHWH, Festival Honoree} for us.”
10 And he said to them, “So may the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Arbiter} be with you just as I send you and your little ones. Look, for evil {ra‘ah: moral calamity} is before you.”
11 Not so! Let the men go now and serve the LORD {YHWH, Worthy of Worship}, for that is what you are seeking {mevakshim: earnest petition}. And he drove them out from the presence of Pharaoh.
12 And the LORD {YHWH, Plague Commander} said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts {arbeh: swarming judgment}, and let them go up over the land of Egypt and consume all the vegetation of the land, all that the hail has left.”
13 And Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Orchestrator} drove an east wind {ruach-qadim: directional force} across the land throughout that day and night; in the morning the wind carried the locusts.
14 And the locust {ʾarbeh: devastating swarm} went up over all the land of Egypt and settled in every boundary {gevul: boundary region} of Egypt; it was very heavy. Before it there had been no such locust, nor will there be one after it.
15 And the locusts covered the surface {ayin: visible face} of all the land, and the land became dark. They devoured all the vegetation {esev: plant growth} of the land and every fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on any tree or in the field throughout all the land of Egypt.
16 And Pharaoh hurried {vayemaher: acted with urgency} to call Moses and Aaron, and he said, “I have sinned against the LORD {YHWH, Supreme Judge} your God and against you.”
17 And now please bear my sin {chattati: moral offense} just this once and intercede with the LORD your God {YHWH Eloheichem, Supreme Judge} so that He may remove this death from me.
18 Then he went out from Pharaoh and earnestly prayed {vayetar: made supplication} to the LORD {YHWH, Prayer Hearer}.
19 And the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Controller} turned a very strong west wind {ruach-yam: sea wind}, and it carried the locusts into the Sea of Reeds. Not a single locust remained in all the territory of Egypt.
20 But the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Over Hearts} hardened the heart {lev: innermost will} of Pharaoh, and he did not send away the sons of Israel.
21 And the LORD {YHWH, Omnipotent Sovereign} said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand {yad: symbol of divine power} toward the heavens, and let there be darkness over the land of Egypt and let it be felt.”
22 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sky, and there was thick darkness {choshekh: absence of light} in all the land of Egypt for three days {yamim: set period}.
23 No man saw his brother, and no one arose from his place for three days {sheloshet yamim: fixed duration}; but for all the sons of Israel {benei Yisrael: tribal identity} there was light in their dwellings.
24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go and serve the LORD {YHWH, Worship Recipient}; only your flocks {tson: sheep and goats} and your herds shall be detained. Even your little ones may go with you.”
25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices {zevachim: slaughtered offerings} and burnt offerings so that we may offer them to the LORD our God {YHWH Eloheinu, Sacrificial Recipient}.”
26 And also our livestock will go with us; not a hoof {parsah: single animal’s foot} will be left behind, for from it we shall take to serve the LORD our God {YHWH Eloheinu, Worship Recipient}; and we do not know what we must serve the LORD with until we arrive there.
27 But the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Ruler} strengthened the heart {lev: decision center} of Pharaoh, and he was not willing to send them.
28 And Pharaoh said to him, “Go from me; beware {hishamer: personal safety} for yourself, do not add to see my face, for on the day you see my face you will die {tamut: fatal consequence}.”
29 Moses said, “You have spoken precisely {ken: Exact Agreement}. I will not again {osif: Sustained Action} see your face.”