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Exodus 10

KJV · Chapter 10/40

1And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him:

2And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the Lord.

3And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.

4Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:

5And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:

6And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.

7And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

8And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go?

9And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.

10And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you.

11Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

13And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

14And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

15For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.

17Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only.

18And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord.

19And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.

20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.

21And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

22And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:

23They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

24And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.

25And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God.

26Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither.

27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.

28And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.

29And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.

📖 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 10:7For the first time Pharaoh’s own advisers openly press for the people’s release, acknowledging that Egypt is already being destroyed.
  8. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 10:14The text stresses the exceptional size of this particular plague, calling it unprecedented and never repeated afterward in intensity.
  15. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 10:18Fulfilling Pharaoh’s request, Moses goes out and prays to God for the end of the plague of locusts.
  19. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 10:22Moses carries out the order, and darkness covers all of Egypt for the appointed time, preventing any normal activity during that period.
  23. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 10:27Once again the text attributes to God the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, as he refuses to accept Moses’s conditions.
  28. Exodus 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. Exodus 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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