EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Exodus 10:21
21Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Lift up your hand towards the sky. Then it will become dark over the whole country of Egypt. It will be so dark that people will be able to feel it.’
Exodus 10:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”
Context of Exodus 10:21
19Then the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind. This wind lifted the locusts up and it blew them away into the Red Sea. Not one locust remained in all the country of Egypt. 20But the Lord caused Pharaoh's mind to become hard again. Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Lift up your hand towards the sky. Then it will become dark over the whole country of Egypt. It will be so dark that people will be able to feel it.’ 22So Moses lifted up his hand towards the sky and it became completely dark. It was dark through the whole country of Egypt for three days. 23People could not see each other. Nobody could move anywhere for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
Read all of Exodus 10Exodus 10:21 word by word
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה נְטֵ֤ה יָֽדְךָ֙ עַל־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וִ֥יהִי חֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וְיָמֵ֖שׁ חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- Stretch outנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
- thine handיָדyâd · handH3027
- toward heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- that there may be darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
- over the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- may be feltמָשַׁשׁmâshash · to feelH4959
Cross-references for Exodus 10:21
- Exodus 9:22Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Lift up your hand towards the sky. Then hail will fall over all the country of Egypt. It will fall on people and on animals. It will fall on all the plants that grow in the fields of Egypt.’
- Psalms 35:6Make their way dark and dangerous, as the angel of the Lord chases after them.
- Psalms 78:49He was so angry with them, that he sent terrible things to punish them. Great trouble came to them, like an army of his angels that bring death.
- Psalms 105:28God made all the land become dark. But the Egyptians did not obey God's command.
- Proverbs 4:19But the life of wicked people is like a very dark road. They cannot even see what causes them to fall.
- Ecclesiastes 2:14Wise people can see where they are going. Foolish people walk in the dark. But at the end of their lives, there is no difference. They both die.
- Ecclesiastes 6:4The child's birth has no purpose. He immediately goes to a dark place. Nobody ever speaks his name.
- Isaiah 8:21Then the people will travel through the land, and they will be sad and hungry. Because of their hunger they will become angry. They will curse their king and their God, as they look up to the sky.
- Matthew 27:45It was now midday. The whole country became dark for three hours.
- Mark 15:33At midday, the whole country became dark for three hours.
- Luke 23:44It was now about midday. The whole country became dark for three hours.
- 2 Peter 2:4God even punished the angels who refused to obey him. He threw them down into the deep hole of hell. He tied them up and he kept them in that completely dark place. They will remain there until the day when God will judge them.
- Revelation 16:10Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the wild animal. As a result, the whole kingdom that the wild animal ruled became dark. People were biting their tongues because of their great pain.
Commentaries on Exodus 10:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Darkness which may be felt - Probably this was occasioned by a superabundance of aqueous vapors floating in the atmosphere, which were so thick as to prevent the rays of the sun from penetrating through them; an extraordinarily thick mist supernaturally, i.e., miraculously, brought on. An awful emblem of the darkened state of the Egyptians and their king.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Darkness - This infliction was specially calculated to affect the spirits of the Egyptians, whose chief object of worship was the Sun-god; and its suddenness and severity in connection with the act of Moses mark it as a preternatural withdrawal of light. Yet, it has an analogy in physical phenomena. After the vernal equinox the southwest wind from the desert blows some 50 days, not however, continuously but at intervals, lasting generally some two or…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-29Verses 21-29 The plague of darkness brought upon Egypt was a dreadful plague. It was darkness which might be felt, so thick were the fogs. It astonished and terrified. It continued three days; six nights in one; so long the most lightsome palaces were dungeons. Now Pharaoh had time to consider, if he would have improved it. Spiritual darkness is spiritual bondage; while Satan blinds men's eyes that they see not, he binds their hands and feet, that they…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-29The ninth plague was the plague of darkness (10:21). The chief god of Egypt through the centuries, who appeared under several different names, was the sun. At this time, he was known as Amon-Re. He was supreme over all the other gods and was considered to be the ultimate source of life. The Lord showed that the sun’s light is completely under his control. God could shut it off from Egypt proper, while leaving it to shine in Goshen in the northeast part of…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-2921-23. Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness--Whatever secondary means were employed in producing it, whether thick clammy fogs and vapors, according to some; a sandstorm, or the chamsin, according to others; it was such that it could be almost perceived by the organs of touch, and so protracted as to continue for three days, which the chamsin does [Hengstenberg]. The appalling character of this calamity consisted in this, that…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 10:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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