NLT One Year Bible - Flipbook - Page 114
J A N U A R Y
3 0
take your little ones! I can see through
your evil plan. 11Never! Only the men
may go and worship the Lord, since that
is what you requested.” And Pharaoh
threw them out of the palace.
12 Then the L ord said to Moses,
“Raise your hand over the land of Egypt
to bring on the locusts. Let them cover
the land and devour every plant that
survived the hailstorm.”
13 So Moses raised his staff over
Egypt, and the Lord caused an east
wind to blow over the land all that day
and through the night. When morning
arrived, the east wind had brought the
locusts. 14And the locusts swarmed over
the whole land of Egypt, settling in
dense swarms from one end of the
country to the other. It was the worst
locust plague in Egyptian history, and
there has never been another one like it.
15 For the locusts covered the whole
country and darkened the land. They
devoured every plant in the fields and
all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf
was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt.
16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses
and Aaron. “I have sinned against the
Lord your God and against you,” he
confessed. 17“Forgive my sin, just this
once, and plead with the Lord your God
to take away this death from me.”
18So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and
pleaded with the Lord. 19 The Lord responded by shifting the wind, and the
strong west wind blew the locusts into
the Red Sea.* Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt. 20But
the L ord hardened Pharaoh’s heart
again, so he refused to let the people go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift
your hand toward heaven, and the land
of Egypt will be covered with a darkness
so thick you can feel it.” 22 So Moses
lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep
darkness covered the entire land of
Egypt for three days. 23During all that
time the people could not see each
other, and no one moved. But there was
110
light as usual where the people of Israel
lived.
24Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses.
“Go and worship the Lord,” he said. “But
leave your flocks and herds here. You
may even take your little ones with you.”
25“No,” Moses said, “you must provide
us with animals for sacrifices and burnt
offerings to the Lord our God. 26All our
livestock must go with us, too; not a
hoof can be left behind. We must
choose our sacrifices for the Lord our
God from among these animals. And we
won’t know how we are to worship the
Lord until we get there.”
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s
heart once more, and he would not let
them go. 28“Get out of here!” Pharaoh
shouted at Moses. “I’m warning you.
Never come back to see me again! The
day you see my face, you will die!”
29“Very well,” Moses replied. “I will
never see your face again.”
11:1Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will
strike Pharaoh and the land of Egypt
with one more blow. After that, Pharaoh
will let you leave this country. In fact,
he will be so eager to get rid of you
that he will force you all to leave. 2 Tell all
the Israelite men and women to ask
their Egyptian neighbors for articles of
silver and gold.” 3 (Now the Lord had
caused the Egyptians to look favorably
on the people of Israel. And Moses was
considered a very great man in the land
of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people alike.)
4Moses had announced to Pharaoh,
“This is what the Lord says: At midnight
tonight I will pass through the heart of
Egypt. 5All the firstborn sons will die in
every family in Egypt, from the oldest
son of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne,
to the oldest son of his lowliest servant
girl who grinds the flour. Even the firstborn of all the livestock will die. 6Then a
loud wail will rise throughout the land
of Egypt, a wail like no one has heard before or will ever hear again. 7 But among
the Israelites it will be so peaceful that
not even a dog will bark. Then you will
