Section 33 of 12710:1–20Exodus

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King James VersionExodus 10:1–20

And 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:

And 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.

And 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.

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

And 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:

And 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.

And 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?

And 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?

And 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.

And 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.

Not 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.

And 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.

And 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.

And 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.

For 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.

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

Now 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.

And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.

And 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.

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

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Exodus 10:1–20

Locusts Consume What Hail Left

Hardening for a story later generations will tell

God sends Moses in because he has hardened Pharaoh's heart and his servants' hearts, to show signs and so that Moses may tell his son and grandson what God did in Egypt. The demand is 'How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself?' Locusts will eat what the hail left.

Servants plead; Pharaoh tries to keep the children

Pharaoh's servants ask how long Moses will be a snare: let the men go; Egypt is destroyed. Pharaoh summons them and asks who will go. Moses answers: young and old, sons and daughters, flocks and herds—a feast for the LORD. Pharaoh will allow men only, not little ones, and drives them out.

The locusts come on an east wind, darken the land, and finish the plants. Pharaoh hastily confesses sin against the LORD and against Moses, asks forgiveness 'only this once,' and begs removal of 'this death.' A west wind casts the locusts into the Red sea. The LORD hardens Pharaoh's heart, and he will not let Israel go.

How this should shape us

Do not accept a release that leaves dependents behind as hostages. Tell the next generation the truth about both the signs and the collateral ruin, without making Egypt's hunger a joke or a racial curse.

Teach it back

Explain Exodus 10:1–20 in your own words. Include both movements, its place in Exodus, one historical or compositional uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one conclusion the complete context rules out.

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Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

Best judgment: Careful interpreters agree that the received text states the following: Hardening is framed as signs told across generations; Pharaoh's servants urge release, negotiations exclude dependents, locusts finish the crops, and an urgent confession again dissolves after relief. They disagree over source layers, date, historical recovery, archaeology, Hebrew details, ritual development, legal use, and canonical relationship in different proportions; this study treats the final form directly while marking those alternatives as probable or uncertain rather than settled fact.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exodus 10:1–20, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 10:1–20

NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes

Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.

NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 10:1–20

The Plagues Study Guide

Supports: Canonical plague sequence, composite details, Pharaoh negotiations, hardening, moral difficulty, Egyptian setting, and limits of naturalistic reconstruction.

Yale Bible Study, 'The Plagues,' complete study guide pp. 1–4, 'Two Sources,' 'Purpose of the Plagues,' and 'Natural Phenomena'; applied to Exodus 10:1–20

Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart

Supports: Distinct Hebrew hardening terms, narrative sequence, source-critical alternatives, moral agency problem, and limits of a single retributive explanation.

Frankel, 'Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart,' complete article sections on the hardening roots, Priestly and non-Priestly sequences, editorial proposals, sea notices, and traditional ethical readings; applied to Exodus 10:1–20

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exact location: Exodus 10:1–20, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 10:1–20

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2026-08-12

Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.

Exact location: NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 10:1–20

Open source ↗

open university course study guide

The Plagues Study Guide

Joel S. Baden and John J. Collins

Yale Bible Study, 2019 course edition

Supports: Canonical plague sequence, composite details, Pharaoh negotiations, hardening, moral difficulty, Egyptian setting, and limits of naturalistic reconstruction.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'The Plagues,' complete study guide pp. 1–4, 'Two Sources,' 'Purpose of the Plagues,' and 'Natural Phenomena'; applied to Exodus 10:1–20

Open source ↗

modern jewish scholarly source and redaction study

Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart

David Frankel

TheTorah.com, 2016

Supports: Distinct Hebrew hardening terms, narrative sequence, source-critical alternatives, moral agency problem, and limits of a single retributive explanation.

Exact location: Frankel, 'Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart,' complete article sections on the hardening roots, Priestly and non-Priestly sequences, editorial proposals, sea notices, and traditional ethical readings; applied to Exodus 10:1–20

Open source ↗

Exodus 10:1–20, King James Version

Hardening for a story later generations will tell

Servants plead; Pharaoh tries to keep the children

How this should shape us

Teach it back

Go deeper

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus

NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes

The Plagues Study Guide

Taking Control of the Story: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart