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Êxodo 10

BLIVRE · Chapter 10/40

1E o SENHOR disse a Moisés: Vai à presença de Faraó; porque agravei o coração dele, e o coração de seus servos, para fazer entre eles estes meus sinais;

2e para que contes a teus filhos e a teus netos as coisas que eu fiz em Egito, e meus sinais que realizei entre eles; e para que saibais que eu sou o SENHOR.

3Então vieram Moisés e Arão a Faraó, e lhe disseram: O SENHOR, o Deus dos hebreus disse assim: Até quando não quererás te humilhar diante de mim? Deixa ir a meu povo para que me sirvam.

4E se ainda recusas deixá-lo ir, eis que trarei amanhã gafanhotos em teu território,

5os quais cobrirão a face da terra, de modo que não se possa ver a terra; e ela comerá o que restou salvo, o que vos restou do granizo; comerão também toda árvore que vos produz fruto no campo;

6e encherão tuas casas, e as casas de todos os teus servos, e as casas de todos os egípcios, que nunca viram teus pais nem teus avós, desde que eles existiram sobre a terra até hoje. E voltou-se, e saiu da presença de Faraó.

7Então os servos de Faraó lhe disseram: Até quando este nos será por laço? Deixa ir a estes homens, para que sirvam ao SENHOR seu Deus; ainda não sabes que Egito está destruído?

8E Moisés e Arão voltaram a ser chamados a Faraó, o qual lhes disse: Andai, servi ao SENHOR vosso Deus. Quem e quem são os que irão?

9E Moisés respondeu: Iremos com nossos meninos e com nossos idosos, com nossos filhos e com nossas filhas; iremos com nossas ovelhas e com nossas vacas, porque temos solenidade do SENHOR.

10E ele lhes disse: Assim esteja o SENHOR convosco se eu vos deixar ir a vós e a vossos meninos; olhai como o mal está diante de vosso rosto.

11Não será assim: ide agora vós, os homens, e servi ao SENHOR; pois isto é o que vós pedistes. E eles foram expulsos de diante de Faraó.

12Então o SENHOR disse a Moisés: Estende tua mão sobre a terra do Egito para gafanhotos, a fim de que subam sobre a terra do Egito, e consumam tudo o que o granizo deixou.

13E estendeu Moisés sua vara sobre a terra do Egito, e o SENHOR trouxe um vento oriental sobre aquela terra durante todo aquele dia e toda aquela noite; e na manhã o vento oriental trouxe os gafanhotos;

14E os gafanhotos subiram sobre toda a terra do Egito, e pousaram em todos os termos do Egito, em gravíssima maneira; antes dela não houve gafanhotos semelhantes, nem depois deles vieram outros tais;

15E cobriram a face de todo o país, e aquela terra se escureceu; e consumiram toda a erva da terra, e todo o fruto das árvores que o granizo havia deixado; que não restou coisa verde em árvores nem em erva do campo, por toda a terra do Egito.

16Então Faraó fez chamar depressa a Moisés e a Arão, e disse: Pequei contra o SENHOR vosso Deus, e contra vós.

17Mas rogo agora que perdoes meu pecado somente esta vez, e que oreis ao SENHOR vosso Deus que tire de mim somente esta morte.

18E saiu da presença de Faraó, e orou ao SENHOR.

19E o SENHOR voltou um vento ocidental fortíssimo, e tirou os gafanhotos, e lançou-os ao mar Vermelho; nem um gafanhoto restou ao todo o território do Egito.

20Mas o SENHOR endureceu o coração de Faraó; e não permitiu a saída dos filhos de Israel.

21E o SENHOR disse a Moisés: Estende tua mão até o céu, para que haja trevas sobre a terra do Egito, tão intensas que qualquer um as apalpe.

22E estendeu Moisés sua mão até o céu, e houve densas durante trevas três dias por toda a terra do Egito.

23Nenhum podia ver seu próximo, nem ninguém se levantou de seu lugar em três dias; mas todos os filhos de Israel tinham luz em suas habitações.

24Então Faraó fez chamar a Moisés, e disse: Ide, servi ao SENHOR; somente restem vossas ovelhas e vossas vacas; vão também vossas crianças convosco.

25E Moisés respondeu: Tu também nos entregarás sacrifícios e holocaustos para que sacrifiquemos ao SENHOR nosso Deus.

26Nossos gados irão também conosco; não ficará nem uma casco; porque deles tomaremos para servir ao SENHOR nosso Deus; e não sabemos com que serviremos ao SENHOR, até que cheguemos ali.

27Mas o SENHOR endureceu o coração de Faraó, e não quis deixá-los ir.

28E disse-lhe Faraó: Retira-te de mim; guarda-te que não vejas mais meu rosto, porque em qualquer dia que vires meu rosto, morrerás.

29E Moisés respondeu: Bem disseste; não verei mais teu rosto.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God sends the plagues of locusts and darkness upon Egypt; Pharaoh partially negotiates with Moses, trying to limit who could leave to worship, but continues to refuse full deliverance.

Explanation

This chapter shows Pharaoh attempting increasingly desperate and partial negotiations — first allowing only the men to go, then allowing them to go without their flocks — in an attempt to maintain some control over the Israelite people even amid Egypt's growing devastation. Moses, however, firmly insists that the entire community and all their possessions must go, with no concessions, because 'we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither' (v. 26) — a stance of faith that refuses half-measures in obedience to God. The plague of dense darkness, which lasts three days and covers the whole land except Goshen, strikes directly at the sun-god Ra, one of the chief Egyptian deities, symbolically showing that not even Egypt's most fundamental source of light and life escaped the control of the God of Israel. The final confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh in this chapter, ending with the threat of death should Moses see his face again, sets the stage for the final and most terrible plague of the next chapter.

Fun facts

  • Pharaoh's persistent refusal to fully release the people, even in the face of devastating plagues, is used theologically throughout the account as evidence that true freedom cannot be negotiated in parts or with reservations — a principle echoed in later teachings about total surrender to God.
  • The three-day plague of darkness, so dense that 'they saw not one another' (v. 23), while the Israelites had light in their dwellings, demonstrates a supernatural separation that goes beyond any simple climatic explanation, reinforcing the miraculous and deliberate character of each plague.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Êxodo 10:1God explains to Moses the reason behind Pharaoh’s prolonged resistance: to multiply the signs so the story would be told for generations.
  2. Êxodo 10:2God wants this story passed down to children and grandchildren, creating a tradition of retelling what happened — a practice that later becomes central to Passover.
  3. Êxodo 10:3Moses returns to the same request as always, but this time asks directly how long Pharaoh will refuse to humble himself before God, marking the wear of the confrontation.
  4. Êxodo 10:4The threat now involves locusts, an agricultural plague well known and feared in the ancient world for being able to devastate an entire harvest in a short time.
  5. Êxodo 10:5The description exaggerates the size of the invasion to convey its severity: the locusts would cover the ground and finish off what the hail had already begun to destroy.
  6. Êxodo 10:6The threat reaches into the Egyptians’ own houses, something no generation had ever seen before; Moses leaves the audience without waiting for Pharaoh’s reply.
  7. Êxodo 10:7For the first time Pharaoh’s own advisers openly press for the people’s release, acknowledging that Egypt is already being destroyed.
  8. Êxodo 10:8Pharaoh gives in to his servants’ pressure and calls Moses and Aaron back, but still imposes a condition on who could leave, as the following dialogue shows.
  9. Êxodo 10:9Moses makes clear that the departure has to include everyone, children, the elderly, and even the animals, because it is a complete religious feast, not a partial trip.
  10. Êxodo 10:10Pharaoh refuses Moses’s demand with irony and threat, implying that he would only let go whoever he wished, and hinting at bad intentions behind the request.
  11. Êxodo 10:11Pharaoh tries to negotiate: he lets only the men go out to worship and holds the women and children back as a guarantee that the people will return. Moses refuses, because for him the departure has to be of the whole family, and it is this standoff that makes Pharaoh drive the two of them from his presence.
  12. Êxodo 10:12God commands the start of the eighth plague: locusts will devour everything left of the crops after the destruction caused by the hail.
  13. Êxodo 10:13An east wind blows for a full day and night, bringing the locusts — another case where a natural phenomenon is the means God uses to act.
  14. Êxodo 10:14The text stresses the exceptional size of this particular plague, calling it unprecedented and never repeated afterward in intensity.
  15. Êxodo 10:15The locusts literally darken the sky with their sheer number and finish destroying any vegetation still left over from the plague of hail.
  16. Êxodo 10:16Pharaoh reacts quickly this time, calling Moses and Aaron without delay and directly admitting his own sin against God and against the two brothers.
  17. Êxodo 10:17Pharaoh asks for forgiveness and intercession, but note the phrase “only this once” — a repeated pattern of repentance that lasts only as long as the plague is a bother.
  18. Êxodo 10:18Fulfilling Pharaoh’s request, Moses goes out and prays to God for the end of the plague of locusts.
  19. Êxodo 10:19A strong wind blowing in the opposite direction from before carries all the locusts into the Red Sea, ending the plague without leaving a single insect behind.
  20. Êxodo 10:20Despite the plague’s complete relief, Pharaoh goes back on his word again, and the text directly attributes the hardening of his heart at this point to God.
  21. Êxodo 10:21The expression darkness “which may be felt” describes a darkness so thick it could be sensed in the air, almost as if it could be touched, possibly amplified by a sandstorm of unusual intensity. The striking detail is that the Hebrews, in Goshen, still had normal light, reinforcing that the plague had a definite address.
  22. Êxodo 10:22Moses carries out the order, and darkness covers all of Egypt for the appointed time, preventing any normal activity during that period.
  23. Êxodo 10:23The darkness is so intense that no one can move for three whole days, except the Hebrews, who keep normal light in their homes in Goshen.
  24. Êxodo 10:24Pharaoh again tries a partial arrangement, allowing the people to go but demanding the flocks stay behind in Egypt as a kind of guarantee of return.
  25. Êxodo 10:25Moses refuses the condition, explaining that the animals themselves are needed for the sacrifices and offerings the people intend to make in the wilderness.
  26. Êxodo 10:26Moses insists that not one animal can be left behind, because they do not yet know exactly which sacrifices God will ask for until they reach the agreed place.
  27. Êxodo 10:27Once again the text attributes to God the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, as he refuses to accept Moses’s conditions.
  28. Êxodo 10:28Pharaoh threatens to kill Moses if he appears before him again, and Moses agrees, saying he will not see his face again. It is the last face-to-face conversation between the two before the final plague; from here on, communication with Pharaoh changes tone.
  29. Êxodo 10:29Moses agrees with Pharaoh’s threat, closing the door for good on any direct negotiation between the two before the final plague, told in the next chapter.

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