21 And 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.
22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24 And 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.
25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God.
26 Our 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.
27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.
28 And 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.
29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.
21 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Stretch out H5186 thine hand H3027 toward heaven, H8064 that there may be darkness H2822 over the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 even darkness H2822 which may be felt. H4959
22 And Moses H4872 stretched forth H5186 his hand H3027 toward heaven; H8064 and there was a thick H653 darkness H2822 in all the land H776 of Egypt H4714 three H7969 days: H3117
23 They saw H7200 not one H376 another, H251 neither rose H6965 any H376 from his place for three H7969 days: H3117 but all the children H1121 of Israel H3478 had light H216 in their dwellings. H4186
24 And Pharaoh H6547 called H7121 unto Moses, H4872 and said, H559 Go H3212 ye, serve H5647 the LORD; H3068 only let your flocks H6629 and your herds H1241 be stayed: H3322 let your little ones H2945 also go H3212 with you.
25 And Moses H4872 said, H559 Thou must give H5414 us H3027 also sacrifices H2077 and burnt offerings, H5930 that we may sacrifice H6213 unto the LORD H3068 our God. H430
26 Our cattle H4735 also shall go H3212 with us; there shall not an hoof H6541 be left behind; H7604 for thereof must we take H3947 to serve H5647 the LORD H3068 our God; H430 and we know H3045 not with what we must serve H5647 the LORD, H3068 until we come H935 thither.
27 But the LORD H3068 hardened H2388 Pharaoh's H6547 heart, H3820 and he would H14 not let them go. H7971
28 And Pharaoh H6547 said H559 unto him, Get H3212 thee from me, take heed H8104 to thyself, see H7200 my face H6440 no more; H3254 for in that day H3117 thou seest H7200 my face H6440 thou shalt die. H4191
29 And Moses H4872 said, H559 Thou hast spoken H1696 well, H3651 I will see H7200 thy face H6440 again H3254 no more.
21 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days;
23 they saw not one another, neither rose any one from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve Jehovah; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.
25 And Moses said, Thou must also give into our hand sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto Jehovah our God.
26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind: for thereof must we take to serve Jehovah our God; and we know not with what we must serve Jehovah, until we come thither.
27 But Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.
28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face thou shalt die.
29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well. I will see thy face again no more.
21 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Stretch out thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and the darkness is felt.'
22 And Moses stretcheth out his hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness -- thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days;
23 they have not seen one another, and none hath risen from his place three days; and to all the sons of Israel there hath been light in their dwellings.'
24 And Pharaoh calleth unto Moses and saith, `Go ye, serve Jehovah, only your flock and your herd are stayed, your infants also go with you;'
25 and Moses saith, `Thou also dost give in our hand sacrifices and burnt-offerings, and we have prepared for Jehovah our God;
26 and also our cattle doth go with us, there is not left a hoof, for from it we do take to serve Jehovah our God; and we -- we know not how we do serve Jehovah till our going thither.'
27 And Jehovah strengtheneth the heart of Pharaoh, and he hath not been willing to send them away;
28 and Pharaoh saith to him, `Go from me, take heed to thyself, add not to see my face, for in the day thou seest my face thou diest;'
29 and Moses saith, `Rightly hast thou spoken, I add not any more to see thy face.'
21 And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward the heavens, that there may be darkness in the land of Egypt -- so that one may feel darkness.
22 And Moses stretched out his hand toward the heavens; and there was a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt three days:
23 they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place, for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24 And Pharaoh called Moses and said, Go, serve Jehovah; only, let your flocks and your herds remain; let your little ones also go with you.
25 And Moses said, Thou must give also sacrifices and burnt-offerings into our hands, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.
26 Our cattle also must go with us: there shall not a hoof be left behind; for we must take thereof to serve Jehovah our God; and we do not know with what we must serve Jehovah, until we come there.
27 But Jehovah made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he would not let them go.
28 And Pharaoh said to him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face thou shalt die.
29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken rightly: I will see thy face again no more!
21 Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt."
22 Moses stretched forth his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
23 They didn't see one another, neither did anyone rise from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24 Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, "Go, serve Yahweh. Only let your flocks and your herds stay behind. Let your little ones also go with you."
25 Moses said, "You must also give into our hand sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.
26 Our cattle also shall go with us. There shall not a hoof be left behind, for of it we must take to serve Yahweh our God; and we don't know with what we must serve Yahweh, until we come there."
27 But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he wouldn't let them go.
28 Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me! Be careful to see my face no more; for in the day you see my face you shall die!"
29 Moses said, "You have spoken well. I will see your face again no more."
21 And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out to heaven, and all the land of Egypt will be dark, so that men will be feeling their way about in the dark.
22 And when Moses' hand was stretched out, dark night came over all the land of Egypt for three days;
23 They were not able to see one another, and no one got up from his place for three days: but where the children of Israel were living it was light.
24 Then Pharaoh sent for Moses, and said, Go and give worship to the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept here: your little ones may go with you.
25 But Moses said, You will have to let us take burned offerings to put before the Lord our God.
26 So our cattle will have to go with us, not one may be kept back; for they are needed for the worship of the Lord our God; we have no knowledge what offering we have to give till we come to the place.
27 But the Lord made Pharaoh's heart hard, and he would not let them go.
28 And Pharaoh said to him, Go away from me, take care that you come not again before me; for the day when you see my face again will be your last.
29 And Moses said, You say truly; I will not see your face again.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 10
Commentary on Exodus 10 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 10
Ex 10:1-20. Plague of Locusts.
1. show these my signs, &c.—Sinners even of the worst description are to be admonished even though there may be little hope of amendment, and hence those striking miracles that carried so clear and conclusive demonstration of the being and character of the true God were performed in lengthened series before Pharaoh to leave him without excuse when judgment should be finally executed.
2. And that thou mayest tell … of thy son, and of thy son's son, &c.—There was a further and higher reason for the infliction of those awful judgments, namely, that the knowledge of them there, and the permanent record of them still, might furnish a salutary and impressive lesson to the Church down to the latest ages. Worldly historians might have described them as extraordinary occurrences that marked this era of Moses in ancient Egypt. But we are taught to trace them to their cause: the judgments of divine wrath on a grossly idolatrous king and nation.
4. to-morrow will I bring the locusts—Moses was commissioned to renew the request, so often made and denied, with an assurance that an unfavorable answer would be followed on the morrow by an invasion of locusts. This species of insect resembles a large, spotted, red and black, double-winged grasshopper, about three inches or less in length, with the two hind legs working like hinged springs of immense strength and elasticity. Perhaps no more terrible scourge was ever brought on a land than those voracious insects, which fly in such countless numbers as to darken the land which they infest; and on whatever place they alight, they convert it into a waste and barren desert, stripping the ground of its verdure, the trees of their leaves and bark, and producing in a few hours a degree of desolation which it requires the lapse of years to repair.
7-11. Pharaoh's servants said—Many of his courtiers must have suffered serious losses from the late visitations, and the prospect of such a calamity as that which was threatened and the magnitude of which former experience enabled them to realize, led them to make a strong remonstrance with the king. Finding himself not seconded by his counsellors in his continued resistance, he recalled Moses and Aaron, and having expressed his consent to their departure, inquired who were to go. The prompt and decisive reply, "all," neither man nor beast shall remain, raised a storm of indignant fury in the breast of the proud king. He would permit the grown-up men to go away; but no other terms would be listened to.
11. they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence—In the East, when a person of authority and rank feels annoyed by a petition which he is unwilling to grant, he makes a signal to his attendants, who rush forward and, seizing the obnoxious suppliant by the neck, drag him out of the chamber with violent haste. Of such a character was the impassioned scene in the court of Egypt when the king had wrought himself into such a fit of uncontrollable fury as to treat ignominiously the two venerable representatives of the Hebrew people.
13-19. the Lord brought an east wind—The rod of Moses was again raised, and the locusts came. They are natives of the desert and are only brought by an east wind into Egypt, where they sometimes come in sun-obscuring clouds, destroying in a few days every green blade in the track they traverse. Man, with all his contrivances, can do nothing to protect himself from the overwhelming invasion. Egypt has often suffered from locusts. But the plague that followed the wave of the miraculous rod was altogether unexampled. Pharaoh, fearing irretrievable ruin to his country, sent in haste for Moses, and confessing his sin, implored the intercession of Moses, who entreated the Lord, and a "mighty strong west wind took away the locusts."
Ex 10:21-29. Plague of Darkness.
21-23. Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness—Whatever secondary means were employed in producing it, whether thick clammy fogs and vapors, according to some; a sandstorm, or the chamsin, according to others; it was such that it could be almost perceived by the organs of touch, and so protracted as to continue for three days, which the chamsin does [Hengstenberg]. The appalling character of this calamity consisted in this, that the sun was an object of Egyptian idolatry; that the pure and serene sky of that country was never marred by the appearance of a cloud. And here, too, the Lord made a marked difference between Goshen and the rest of Egypt.
24-26. Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord—Terrified by the preternatural darkness, the stubborn king relents, and proposes another compromise—the flocks and herds to be left as hostages for their return. But the crisis is approaching, and Moses insists on every iota of his demand. The cattle would be needed for sacrifice—how many or how few could not be known till their arrival at the scene of religious observance. But the emancipation of Israel from Egyptian bondage was to be complete.
28. Pharaoh said, … Get thee from me—The calm firmness of Moses provoked the tyrant. Frantic with disappointment and rage, with offended and desperate malice, he ordered him from his presence and forbade him ever to return.
29. Moses said, Thou hast spoken well.