The Plague of Locusts

¹The LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may show these signs of mine before him." ²and so that you may tell in the ears of your son and your grandson what things I have wrought in Egypt, and the signs I have done among them. Then you will know that I am the LORD. ³So 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 they can worship me. ⁴If you refuse to let my people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country. ⁵They will cover every inch of ground until you can't even see the earth beneath them. They will devour whatever the hail left behind and strip every tree still growing in your fields. ⁶They will fill your palace, the homes of all your officials, and every house in Egypt — something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have ever seen since the day they walked this earth.'" Then Moses turned and walked out of Pharaoh's presence. ⁷Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long are we going to let this man be a trap for us? Let the people go so they can worship the LORD their God. Don't you realize Egypt is already ruined?" ⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. He said to them, "Go, serve the LORD your God. But who exactly will be going?" ⁹Moses answered, "Everyone is going — young and old, sons and daughters, along with our flocks and herds. We have a feast to celebrate for the LORD." ¹⁰And he said to them, "May the LORD be with you, as I will let you and your little ones go. Watch out, for evil is before you." ¹¹Not so: only the men may go and serve the LORD, since that is what you desired. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. ¹²The LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt to summon the locusts. They will swarm across the land and eat every plant — everything the hail left behind." ¹³Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD sent an east wind blowing across the land all that day and all through the night. By morning, the east wind had carried in the locusts. ¹⁴The locusts swarmed over the entire land of Egypt and settled across every region. It was the worst locust plague anyone had ever seen, and there will never be another like it. ¹⁵They blanketed the ground until the land turned dark beneath them. They ate every plant and every piece of fruit the hail had spared. Not a single green thing was left on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt. ¹⁶Pharaoh urgently summoned Moses and Aaron. "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you," he said. ¹⁷"Please forgive my sin just this once, and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me." ¹⁸Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. ¹⁹The LORD shifted the wind to a powerful west wind that swept up every locust and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt. ²⁰But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he refused to let the Israelites go.