Exodus 10 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Then Yahweh told Moses, "Go to Pharaoh. I've made him and his officials stubborn so that I can perform these signs of mine right in front of them,

and so that you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I dealt with Egypt and about the signs I performed among them — so that all of you will know that I am Yahweh."

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go so they can worship me.

If you refuse to let my people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.

They will cover the face of the ground so completely that no one will be able to see the ground. They will devour whatever was left over from the hail — every tree you have growing in the fields.

They will fill your houses, every one of your officials' houses, and every house in Egypt — something your fathers and your grandfathers never saw from the day they first lived on this land until today.'" Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh's presence.

Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long is this man going to be a trap for us? Let the people go so they can worship Yahweh their God. Don't you realize yet that Egypt is ruined?"

So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. He said to them, "Go, worship Yahweh your God. But exactly who will be going?"

Moses answered, "We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds, because we have a festival to celebrate for Yahweh."

Pharaoh said to them, "May Yahweh be with you — if I ever let you go with your children! Clearly you're plotting something evil.

No! Only the men may go and worship Yahweh, since that's what you've been asking for." And they were driven out of Pharaoh's presence.

Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so they will come up over the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land — everything the hail left behind."

So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh drove an east wind across the land all that day and all that night. By morning, the east wind had brought the locusts.

The locusts came up over the entire land of Egypt and settled across all of Egypt's territory. It was devastating — there had never been a locust swarm like it before, and there never will be again.

They covered the surface of the entire land until the ground was black with them. They ate every plant in the land and every fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left — not on a tree, not on a plant in the field — in all of Egypt.

Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have failed against Yahweh your God and against you.

Now please forgive my failure just this once, and plead with Yahweh your God to just take this death away from me."

Moses left Pharaoh's presence and pleaded with Yahweh.

Yahweh reversed the wind to a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and drove them into the Sea of Reeds. Not a single locust was left anywhere in Egypt's territory.

But Yahweh made Pharaoh stubborn again, and he did not let the Israelites go.

Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over the land of Egypt — a darkness you can feel."

So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and a thick darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days.

No one could see anyone else, and no one moved from where they were for three days. But all the Israelites had light where they lived.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, worship Yahweh. Even your children can go with you. Just leave your flocks and herds behind."

But Moses said, "You yourself will have to provide us with sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to Yahweh our God.

Our livestock will go with us too — not a single hoof will be left behind. We will need some of them to worship Yahweh our God, and we won't know which ones we'll need to use until we get there."

But Yahweh made Pharaoh stubborn, and he was not willing to let them go.

Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me! Make sure you never come to see me again, because the day you see my face, you will die."

Moses replied, "You're right — I will never see your face again."