English Standard Version
Exodus 10:21
21Then 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."
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.”
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.”
Context of Exodus 10:21
19And the Lord turned the wind into 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. 20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go. 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." 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light 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, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt."
- Psalms 35:6Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!
- Psalms 78:49He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.
- Psalms 105:28He sent darkness, and made the land dark; they did not rebel against his words.
- Proverbs 4:19The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
- Ecclesiastes 2:14The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.
- Ecclesiastes 6:4For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered.
- Isaiah 8:21They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.
- Matthew 27:45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
- Mark 15:33And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
- Luke 23:44It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,
- 2 Peter 2:4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;
- Revelation 16:10The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish
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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Commentaries