The Eighth Plague: Locusts 1 DRA And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants: that I may work these my signs in him. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials, that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them,
2 DRA And thou mayest tell in the ears of thy sons, and of they grandsons, how often I have plagued the Egyptians, and wrought my signs amongst them: and you may know that I am the Lord: BSB BSB: and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how severely I dealt with the Egyptians when I performed miraculous signs among them, so that all of you may know that I am the LORD.”
3 DRA Therefore Moses and Aaron went in to Pharao, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: How long refusest thou to submit to me? let my people go, to sacrifice to me. BSB BSB: So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
4 DRA But if thou resist, and wilt not let them go, behold I will bring in tomorrow the locust into thy coasts: BSB BSB: But if you refuse to let My people go, I will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow.
5 DRA To cover the face of the earth that nothing thereof may appear, but that which the hail hath left may be eaten: for they shall feed upon all the trees that spring in the fields. BSB BSB: They will cover the face of the land so that no one can see it. They will devour whatever is left after the hail and eat every tree that grows in your fields.
6 DRA And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of thy servants, and of all the Egyptians: such a number as thy fathers have not seen, nor thy grandfathers, from the time they were first upon the earth, until this present day. And he turned himself away, and went forth from Pharao. BSB BSB: They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and every Egyptian—something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since the day they came into this land.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.
7 DRA And Pharao’s servants said to him: How long shall we endure this scandal? let the men go to sacrifice to the Lord their God. Dost thou not see that Egypt is undone? BSB BSB: Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”
8 DRA And they called back Moses and Aaron to Pharao: and he said to them: Go, sacrifice to the Lord your God: who are they that shall go? BSB BSB: So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the LORD your God,” he said. “But who exactly will be going?”
9 DRA Moses said: We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, with our sheep and herds: for it is the solemnity of the Lord our God. BSB BSB: “We will go with our young and old,” Moses replied. “We will go with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
10 DRA And Pharao answered: So be the Lord with you, as I shall let you and your children go: who can doubt but that you intend some great evil? BSB BSB: Then Pharaoh told them, “May the LORD be with you if I ever let you go with your little ones. Clearly you are bent on evil.
11 DRA It shall not be so: but go ye men only, and sacrifice to the Lord: for this yourselves also desired. And immediately they were cast out from Pharao’s presence. BSB BSB: No, only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you have been requesting.” And Moses and Aaron were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 DRA And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand upon the land of Egypt unto the locust, that it may come upon it, and devour every herb that is left after the hail. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may swarm over it and devour every plant in the land—everything that the hail has left behind.”
13 DRA And Moses stretched forth his rod upon the land of Egypt: and the Lord brought a burning wind all that day, and night: and when it was morning, the burning wind raised the locusts: BSB BSB: So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts.
14 DRA And they came up over the whole land of Egypt: and rested in all the coasts of the Egyptians innumerable, the like as had not been before that time, nor shall be hereafter. BSB BSB: The locusts swarmed across the land and settled over the entire territory of Egypt. Never before had there been so many locusts, and never again will there be.
15 DRA And they covered the whole face of the earth, wasting all things. And the grass of the earth was devoured, and what fruits soever were on the trees, which the hail had left: and there remained not any thing that was green on the trees, or in the herbs of the earth in all Egypt. BSB BSB: They covered the face of all the land until it was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left behind. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16 DRA Wherefore Pharao in haste called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. BSB BSB: Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.
17 DRA But now forgive me my sin this time also, and pray to the Lord your God, that he take away from me this death. BSB BSB: Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
18 DRA And Moses going forth from the presence of Pharao, prayed to the Lord. BSB BSB: So Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the LORD.
19 DRA And he made a very strong wind to blow from the west, and it took the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea: there remained not so much as one in all the coasts of Egypt. BSB BSB: And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt.
20 DRA And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, neither did he let the children of Israel go. BSB BSB: But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
The Ninth Plague: Darkness 21 DRA And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch out they hand towards heaven: and may there be darkness upon the land of Egypt, so thick that it may be felt. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that darkness may spread over the land of Egypt—a palpable darkness.”
22 DRA And Moses stretch forth his hand towards heaven: and there came horrible darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. BSB BSB: So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days.
23 DRA No man saw his brother, nor moved himself out of the place where he was: but wheresoever the children of Israel dwelt there was light. BSB BSB: No one could see anyone else, and for three days no one left his place. Yet all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.
24 DRA And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go sacrifice to the Lord: let your sheep only, and herds remain; let your children go with you. BSB BSB: Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the LORD. Even your little ones may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”
25 DRA Moses said: Thou shalt give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, to the Lord our God. BSB BSB: But Moses replied, “You must also provide us with sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the LORD our God.
26 DRA All the flocks shall go with us: there shall not a hoof remain of them: for they are necessary for the service of the Lord our God: especially as we know not what must be offered, till we come to the very place. BSB BSB: Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind, for we will need some of them to worship the LORD our God, and we will not know how we are to worship the LORD until we arrive.”
27 DRA And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, and he would not let them go. BSB BSB: But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.
28 DRA And Pharao said to Moses: Get thee from me, and beware thou see not my face any more: in what day soever thou shalt come in my sight, thou shalt die. BSB BSB: “Depart from me!” Pharaoh said to Moses. “Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”
29 DRA Moses answered: So shall it be as thou hast spoken, I will not see thy face any more. BSB BSB: “As you say,” Moses replied, “I will never see your face again.”