6. They will fill your palaces and the houses of all your officials and all your people. They will be worse than anything your ancestors ever saw.’ ” Then Moses turned and left.
7. The king's officials said to him, “How long is this man going to give us trouble? Let the Israelite men go, so that they can worship the Lord their God. Don't you realize that Egypt is ruined?”
8. So Moses and Aaron were brought back to the king, and he said to them, “You may go and worship the Lord your God. But exactly who will go?”
9. Moses answered, “We will all go, including our children and our old people. We will take our sons and daughters, our sheep and goats, and our cattle, because we must hold a festival to honour the Lord.”
10. The king said, “I swear by the Lord that I will never let you take your women and children! It is clear that you are plotting to revolt.
11. No! Only the men may go and worship the Lord if that is what you want.” With that, Moses and Aaron were driven out of the king's presence.
12. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring the locusts. They will come and eat everything that grows, everything that has survived the hail.”
13. So Moses raised his stick, and the Lord caused a wind from the east to blow on the land all that day and all that night. By morning it had brought the locusts.
14. They came in swarms and settled over the whole country. It was the largest swarm of locusts that had ever been seen or that ever would be seen again.
15. They covered the ground until it was black with them; they ate everything that the hail had left, including all the fruit on the trees. Not a green thing was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16. Then the king hurriedly called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.
17. Now forgive my sin this once and pray to the Lord your God to take away this fatal punishment from me.”
18. Moses left the king and prayed to the Lord.
19. And the Lord changed the east wind into a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and blew them into the Gulf of Suez. Not one locust was left in all Egypt.
20. But the Lord made the king stubborn, and he did not let the Israelites go.
21. The Lord then said to Moses, “Raise your hand towards the sky, and a darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt.”