< Exodus 11 >

1 And the Lord said to Moses: “I will touch Pharaoh and Egypt with one more plague, and after these things he will release you, and he will compel you to go out.
And the Lord said to Moses, I will send one more punishment on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go; and when he does let you go, he will not keep one of you back, but will send you out by force.
2 Therefore, you will tell all the people to ask, a man of his friend, and a woman of her neighbor, for vessels of silver and of gold.
So go now and give orders to the people that every man and every woman is to get from his or her neighbour ornaments of silver and of gold.
3 Then the Lord will grant favor to his people in the sight of the Egyptians.” And Moses was a very great man in the land of Egypt, in the sight of the servants of Pharaoh and of all the people.
And the Lord gave the people grace in the eyes of the Egyptians. For the man Moses was highly honoured in the land of Egypt, by Pharaoh's servants and the people.
4 And he said: “Thus says the Lord: ‘In the middle of the night I will enter into Egypt.
And Moses said, This is what the Lord says: About the middle of the night I will go out through Egypt:
5 And every firstborn in the land of the Egyptians shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the handmaid, who is at the millstone, and all the firstborn of the beasts of burden.
And death will come to every mother's first male child in all the land of Egypt, from the child of Pharaoh on his seat of power, to the child of the servant-girl crushing the grain; and the first births of all the cattle.
6 And there will be a great outcry throughout the entire land of Egypt, such as has not been before, nor ever will be afterward.
And there will be a great cry through all the land of Egypt, such as never has been or will be again.
7 But among all the sons of Israel there shall not be even a mutter from a dog, from man, even to cattle, so that you may know how miraculously the Lord divides the Egyptians from Israel.’
But against the children of Israel, man or beast, not so much as the tongue of a dog will be moved: so that you may see how the Lord makes a division between Israel and the Egyptians.
8 And all these, your servants, shall descend to me and shall reverence me, by saying: ‘Depart, you and all the people who are subject to you.’ After these things, we will depart.”
And all these your servants will come to me, going down on their faces before me and saying, Go out, and all your people with you: and after that I will go out. And he went away from Pharaoh burning with wrath.
9 And he went out from Pharaoh exceedingly angry. Then the Lord said to Moses: “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that many signs may be accomplished in the land of Egypt.”
And the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh will not give ear to you, so that my wonders may be increased in the land of Egypt.
10 Now Moses and Aaron did all the wonders that are written, in the sight of Pharaoh. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; neither did he release the sons of Israel from his land.
All these wonders Moses and Aaron did before Pharaoh: but the Lord made Pharaoh's heart hard, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

< Exodus 11 >