Exodus 10:5

10:5 They will cover ¹  the surface ²  of the earth, so that you ³  will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped ⁴  – what is left over ⁵  for you – from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field.

Exodus 10:12

10:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand over the land of Egypt for ⁶  the locusts, that they may come up over the land of Egypt and eat everything that grows ⁷  in the ground, everything that the hail has left.”

Exodus 10:19

10:19 and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, ⁸  and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. ⁹  Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt.

Exodus 10:26

10:26 Our livestock must ¹⁰  also go with us! Not a hoof is to be left behind! For we must take ¹¹  these animals ¹²  to serve the Lord our God. Until we arrive there, we do not know what we must use to serve the Lord.” ¹³ 

[10:5]  ¹ tn The verbs describing the locusts are singular because it is a swarm or plague of locusts. This verb (וְכִסָּה, vÿkhissah, “cover”) is a Piel perfect with a vav consecutive; it carries the same future nuance as the participle before it.

[10:5]  ² tn Heb “eye,” an unusual expression (see v. 15; Num 22:5, 11).

[10:5]  ³ tn The text has לִרְאֹת וְלֹא יוּכַל (vÿlo’ yukhal lir’ot, “and he will not be able to see”). The verb has no expressed subjects. The clause might, therefore, be given a passive translation: “so that [it] cannot be seen.” The whole clause is the result of the previous statement.

[10:5]  ⁴ sn As the next phrase explains “what escaped” refers to what the previous plague did not destroy. The locusts will devour everything, because there will not be much left from the other plagues for them to eat.

[10:5]  ⁵ tn הַנִּשְׁאֶרֶת (hannish’eret) parallels (by apposition) and adds further emphasis to the preceding two words; it is the Niphal participle, meaning “that which is left over.”

[10:12]  ⁶ tn The preposition בְּ (bet) is unexpected here. BDB 91 s.v. (the note at the end of the entry) says that in this case it can only be read as “with the locusts,” meaning that the locusts were thought to be implicit in Moses’ lifting up of his hand. However, BDB prefers to change the preposition to לְ (lamed).

[10:12]  ⁷ tn The noun עֵשֶּׂב (’esev) normally would indicate cultivated grains, but in this context seems to indicate plants in general.

[10:19]  ¹¹ tn Or perhaps “sea wind,” i.e., a wind off the Mediterranean.

[10:19]  ¹² tn The Hebrew name here is יַם־סוּף (Yam Suf), sometimes rendered “Reed Sea” or “Sea of Reeds.” The word סוּף is a collective noun that may have derived from an Egyptian name for papyrus reeds. Many English versions have used “Red Sea,” which translates the name that ancient Greeks used: ejruqrav qalavssa (eruqra qalassa).

[10:26]  ¹⁶ tn This is the obligatory imperfect nuance. They were obliged to take the animals if they were going to sacrifice, but more than that, since they were not coming back, they had to take everything.

[10:26]  ¹⁷ tn The same modal nuance applies to this verb.

[10:26]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from it,” referring collectively to the livestock.

[10:26]  ¹⁹ sn Moses gives an angry but firm reply to Pharaoh’s attempt to control Israel; he makes it clear that he has no intention of leaving any pledge with Pharaoh. When they leave, they will take everything that belongs to them.