The Tenth Plague Announced
1Yahweh said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that he will let you go from here — and when he does, he will drive you out of here completely. 2Now tell the people that every man and every woman is to ask their neighbor for silver and gold jewelry.” 3Yahweh gave the people such favor in the eyes of the Egyptians — and Moses himself was highly regarded in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of Pharaoh’s servants and in the eyes of the people. 4Then Moses said, “This is what Yahweh says: About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt, 5and every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave girl who is at the millstones, and every firstborn of the livestock. 6There will be loud wailing throughout the land of Egypt, such as has never been and will never be again. 7But among the Israelites not even a dog will growl, against man or beast — so that you may know that Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8Then all these servants of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you!’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in burning anger. 9Yahweh had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may multiply in the land of Egypt.” 10Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go out of his land.
