rsv Exodus:7-11 SEEK
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And the LORD said to Moses , "
See ,
I make you as God to Pharaoh ;
and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet .
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You shall speak all that I command you ;
and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land .
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But I will harden Pharaoh '
s heart ,
and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt ,
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Pharaoh will not listen to you ;
then I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring forth my hosts ,
my people the sons of Israel ,
out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment .
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And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD ,
when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them ."
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And Moses and Aaron did so ;
they did as the LORD commanded them .
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Now Moses was eighty years old ,
and Aaron eighty -
three years old ,
when they spoke to Pharaoh .
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And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron ,
* "
When Pharaoh says to you , `
Prove yourselves by working a miracle ,'
then you shall say to Aaron , `
Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh ,
that it may become a serpent .'"
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So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the LORD commanded ;
Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants ,
and it became a serpent .
*
Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers ;
and they also ,
the magicians of Egypt ,
did the same by their secret arts .
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For every man cast down his rod ,
and they became serpents .
But Aaron '
s rod swallowed up their rods .
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Still Pharaoh '
s heart was hardened ,
and he would not listen to them ;
as the LORD had said .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Pharaoh '
s heart is hardened ,
he refuses to let the people go .
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Go to Pharaoh in the morning ,
as he is going out to the water ;
wait for him by the river '
s brink ,
and take in your hand the rod which was turned into a serpent .
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And you shall say to him , `
The LORD ,
the God of the Hebrews ,
sent me to you ,
saying , "
Let my people go ,
that they may serve me in the wilderness ;
and behold ,
you have not yet obeyed ."
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Thus says the LORD , "
By this you shall know that I am the LORD :
behold ,
I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the rod that is in my hand ,
and it shall be turned to blood ,
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and the fish in the Nile shall die ,
and the Nile shall become foul ,
and the Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the Nile ."'"
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And the LORD said to Moses , "
Say to Aaron , `
Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt ,
over their rivers ,
their canals ,
and their ponds ,
and all their pools of water ,
that they may become blood ;
and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt ,
both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone .'"
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Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded ;
in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants ,
he lifted up the rod and struck the water that was in the Nile ,
and all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood .
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And the fish in the Nile died ;
and the Nile became foul ,
so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile ;
and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt .
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But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts ;
so Pharaoh '
s heart remained hardened ,
and he would not listen to them ;
as the LORD had said .
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Pharaoh turned and went into his house ,
and he did not lay even this to heart .
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And all the Egyptians dug round about the Nile for water to drink ,
for they could not drink the water of the Nile .
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Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Go in to Pharaoh and say to him , `
Thus says the LORD , "
Let my people go ,
that they may serve me .
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But if you refuse to let them go ,
behold ,
I will plague all your country with frogs ;
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the Nile shall swarm with frogs which shall come up into your house ,
and into your bedchamber and on your bed ,
and into the houses of your servants and of your people ,
and into your ovens and your kneading bowls ;
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the frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants ."'"
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And the LORD said to Moses , "
Say to Aaron , `
Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers ,
over the canals ,
and over the pools ,
and cause frogs to come upon the land of Egypt !'"
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So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt ;
and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt .
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But the magicians did the same by their secret arts ,
and brought frogs upon the land of Egypt .
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Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron ,
and said , "
Entreat the LORD to take away the frogs from me and from my people ;
and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD ."
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Moses said to Pharaoh , "
Be pleased to command me when I am to entreat ,
for you and for your servants and for your people ,
that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile ."
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And he said , "
Tomorrow ."
Moses said , "
Be it as you say ,
that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God .
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The frogs shall depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people ;
they shall be left only in the Nile ."
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So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh ;
and Moses cried to the LORD concerning the frogs ,
as he had agreed with Pharaoh .
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And the LORD did according to the word of Moses ;
the frogs died out of the houses and courtyards and out of the fields .
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And they gathered them together in heaps ,
and the land stank .
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But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite ,
he hardened his heart ,
and would not listen to them ;
as the LORD had said .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Say to Aaron , `
Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the earth ,
that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt .'"
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And they did so ;
Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod ,
and struck the dust of the earth ,
and there came gnats on man and beast ;
all the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt .
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The magicians tried by their secret arts to bring forth gnats ,
but they could not .
So there were gnats on man and beast .
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And the magicians said to Pharaoh , "
This is the finger of God ."
But Pharaoh '
s heart was hardened ,
and he would not listen to them ;
as the LORD had said .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Rise up early in the morning and wait for Pharaoh ,
as he goes out to the water ,
and say to him , `
Thus says the LORD , "
Let my people go ,
that they may serve me .
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Else ,
if you will not let my people go ,
behold ,
I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people ,
and into your houses ;
and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies ,
and also the ground on which they stand .
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But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen ,
where my people dwell ,
so that no swarms of flies shall be there ;
that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth .
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Thus I will put a division between my people and your people .
By tomorrow shall this sign be ."'"
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And the LORD did so ;
there came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants '
houses ,
and in all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by reason of the flies .
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Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron ,
and said , "
Go ,
sacrifice to your God within the land ."
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But Moses said , "
It would not be right to do so ;
for we shall sacrifice to the LORD our God offerings abominable to the Egyptians .
If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes ,
will they not stone us ?
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We must go three days '
journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he will command us ."
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So Pharaoh said , "
I will let you go ,
to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness ;
only you shall not go very far away .
Make entreaty for me ."
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Then Moses said , "
Behold ,
I am going out from you and I will pray to the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh ,
from his servants ,
and from his people ,
tomorrow ;
only let not Pharaoh deal falsely again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD ."
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So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD .
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And the LORD did as Moses asked ,
and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh ,
from his servants ,
and from his people ;
not one remained .
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But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also ,
and did not let the people go .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Go in to Pharaoh ,
and say to him , `
Thus says the LORD ,
the God of the Hebrews , "
Let my people go ,
that they may serve me .
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For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them ,
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behold ,
the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your cattle which are in the field ,
the horses ,
the asses ,
the camels ,
the herds ,
and the flocks .
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But the LORD will make a distinction between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt ,
so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the people of Israel ."'"
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And the LORD set a time ,
saying , "
Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land ."
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And on the morrow the LORD did this thing ;
all the cattle of the Egyptians died ,
but of the cattle of the people of Israel not one died .
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And Pharaoh sent ,
and behold ,
not one of the cattle of the Israelites was dead .
But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened ,
and he did not let the people go .
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And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron , "
Take handfuls of ashes from the kiln ,
and let Moses throw them toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh .
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And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt ,
and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt ."
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So they took ashes from the kiln ,
and stood before Pharaoh ,
and Moses threw them toward heaven ,
and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast .
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And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils ,
for the boils were upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians .
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But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh ,
and he did not listen to them ;
as the LORD had spoken to Moses .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh ,
and say to him , `
Thus says the LORD ,
the God of the Hebrews , "
Let my people go ,
that they may serve me .
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For this time I will send all my plagues upon your heart ,
and upon your servants and your people ,
that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth .
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For by now I could have put forth my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence ,
and you would have been cut off from the earth ;
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but for this purpose have I let you live ,
to show you my power ,
so that my name may be declared throughout all the earth .
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You are still exalting yourself against my people ,
and will not let them go .
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Behold ,
tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to fall ,
such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now .
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Now therefore send ,
get your cattle and all that you have in the field into safe shelter ;
for the hail shall come down upon every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home ,
and they shall die ."'"
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Then he who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his slaves and his cattle flee into the houses ;
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but he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his slaves and his cattle in the field .
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And the LORD said to Moses , "
Stretch forth your hand toward heaven ,
that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt ,
upon man and beast and every plant of the field ,
throughout the land of Egypt ."
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Then Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven ;
and the LORD sent thunder and hail ,
and fire ran down to the earth .
And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt ;
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there was hail ,
and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail ,
very heavy hail ,
such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation .
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The hail struck down everything that was in the field throughout all the land of Egypt ,
both man and beast ;
and the hail struck down every plant of the field ,
and shattered every tree of the field .
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Only in the land of Goshen ,
where the people of Israel were ,
there was no hail .
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Then Pharaoh sent ,
and called Moses and Aaron ,
and said to them , "
I have sinned this time ;
the LORD is in the right ,
and I and my people are in the wrong .
*
Entreat the LORD ;
for there has been enough of this thunder and hail ;
I will let you go ,
and you shall stay no longer ."
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Moses said to him , "
As soon as I have gone out of the city ,
I will stretch out my hands to the LORD ;
the thunder will cease ,
and there will be no more hail ,
that you may know that the earth is the LORD '
s .
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But as for you and your servants ,
I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God ."
* (
The flax and the barley were ruined ,
for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud .
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But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined ,
for they are late in coming up .)
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So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh ,
and stretched out his hands to the LORD ;
and the thunder and the hail ceased ,
and the rain no longer poured upon the earth .
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But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased ,
he sinned yet again ,
and hardened his heart ,
he and his servants .
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So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened ,
and he did not let the people of Israel go ;
as the LORD had spoken through Moses .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Go in to Pharaoh ;
for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants ,
that I may show these signs of mine among them ,
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and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your son '
s son how I have made sport of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them ;
that you may know that I am the LORD ."
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So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh ,
and said to him , "
Thus says the LORD ,
the God of the Hebrews , `
How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me ?
Let my people go ,
that they may serve me .
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For if you refuse to let my people go ,
behold ,
tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country ,
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and they shall cover the face of the land ,
so that no one can see the land ;
and they shall eat what is left to you after the hail ,
and they shall eat every tree of yours which grows in the field ,
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and they shall fill your houses ,
and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians ;
as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen ,
from the day they came on earth to this day .'"
Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh .
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And Pharaoh '
s servants said to him , "
How long shall this man be a snare to us ?
Let the men go ,
that they may serve the LORD their God ;
do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined ?"
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So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh ;
and he said to them , "
Go ,
serve the LORD your God ;
but who are to go ?"
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And Moses said , "
We will go with our young and our old ;
we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds ,
for we must hold a feast to the LORD ."
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And he said to them , "
The LORD be with you ,
if ever I let you and your little ones go !
Look ,
you have some evil purpose in mind .
*
No !
Go ,
the men among you ,
and serve the LORD ,
for that is what you desire ."
And they were driven out from Pharaoh '
s presence .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts ,
that they may come upon the land of Egypt ,
and eat every plant in the land ,
all that the hail has left ."
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So 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 had brought the locusts .
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And the locusts came up over all the land of Egypt ,
and settled on the whole country of Egypt ,
such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before ,
nor ever shall be again .
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For they covered the face of the whole land ,
so that the land was darkened ,
and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left ;
not a green thing remained ,
neither tree nor plant of the field ,
through all the land of Egypt .
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Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron in haste ,
and said , "
I have sinned against the LORD your God ,
and against you .
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Now therefore ,
forgive my sin ,
I pray you ,
only this once ,
and entreat the LORD your God only to remove this death from me ."
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So he went out from Pharaoh ,
and entreated the LORD .
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And the LORD turned a very strong west wind ,
which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea ;
not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt .
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But the LORD hardened Pharaoh '
s heart ,
and he did not let the children of Israel go .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Stretch out your hand toward heaven that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt ,
a darkness to be felt ."
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So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven ,
and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days ;
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they did not see one another ,
nor did any rise from his place for three days ;
but all the people of Israel had light where they dwelt .
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Then Pharaoh called Moses ,
and said , "
Go ,
serve the LORD ;
your children also may go with you ;
only let your flocks and your herds remain behind ."
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But Moses said , "
You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings ,
that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God .
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Our cattle also must go with us ;
not a hoof shall be left behind ,
for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God ,
and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there ."
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But the LORD hardened Pharaoh '
s heart ,
and he would not let them go .
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Then Pharaoh said to him , "
Get away from me ;
take heed to yourself ;
never see my face again ;
for in the day you see my face you shall die ."
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Moses said , "
As you say !
I will not see your face again ."
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The LORD said to Moses , "
Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt ;
afterwards he will let you go hence ;
when he lets you go ,
he will drive you away completely .
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Speak now in the hearing of the people ,
that they ask ,
every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor ,
jewelry of silver and of gold ."
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And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians .
Moreover ,
the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt ,
in the sight of Pharaoh '
s servants and in the sight of the people .
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And Moses said , "
Thus says the LORD :
About midnight I will go forth in the midst of Egypt ;
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and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die ,
from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits upon his throne ,
even to the first-born of the maidservant who is behind the mill ;
and all the first-born of the cattle .
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And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt ,
such as there has never been ,
nor ever shall be again .
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But against any of the people of Israel ,
either man or beast ,
not a dog shall growl ;
that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel .
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And all these your servants shall come down to me ,
and bow down to me ,
saying , `
Get you out ,
and all the people who follow you .'
And after that I will go out ."
And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger .
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Then the LORD said to Moses , "
Pharaoh will not listen to you ;
that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt ."
*
Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh ;
and the LORD hardened Pharaoh '
s heart ,
and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land .
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The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt ,